"Through the cooperation with NetEase Kaola we can further expand our online presence in the important Chinese market and move closer to local consumers," Ralph Gusko, Beiersdorf management board member for Asia & Brands, said in a statement.

Beiersdorf has focused on boosting online sales in China, where it already cooperates with larger Chinese e-commerce players Alibaba and JD.com.

It said the partnership with Kaola would give its Nivea brand access to more than 900 million online users in a market seeing high demand for imported goods.

It did not provide financial details of the deal.

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan)