CNBC's Jim Cramer on Monday reiterated his bullish view on Alibaba Group after Jefferies initiated coverage of the China Internet retailer with a "buy" rating.
"I regard Alibaba as Amazon, but it also has earnings," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street." "So you have the long Aliaba, short Amazon. That's not a bad trade."
So why won't Cramer get behind Amazon right now?
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"Amazon likes to spend, spend, spend," he said, adding Alibaba also benefits from a different business model, without the overhang of an inventory or warehouses.
The big difference between the two rivals, though, is that Alibaba is deeply rooted in China, where "the Chinese are spending like mad."
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In its note, Jefferies pointed out that Alibaba is the largest player in China e-commerce, but currently sells to less than 25 percent of the country's population.
—CNBC's Peter Schacknow contributed to this report.
DISCLOSURE: When this story was published, Cramer's charitable trust did not own Alibaba Group or Amazon.com.