SHANGHAI, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Walmart China announced on

Tuesday it has entered into a new strategic partnership with

China's biggest food delivery company Meituan ( MPNGF ).

The China unit of Walmart ( WMT ) said in a post on Wechat

the partnership would help it accelerate its e-commerce

business, which currently accounts for nearly half of it China

sales. Stores in China have already been connected to Meituan's ( MPNGF )

delivery ecosystem, the announcement added.

In addition to Walmart ( WMT ) stores, Walmart China has opened 50

Sam's Club stores in China, which have benefitted from Chinese

consumers increasingly seeking out membership stores.

Walmart ( WMT ) was previously aligned with Chinese e-commerce firm

JD.com ( JD ) before selling its roughly $3.7 billion stake

in August. At that time the U.S. retail company said it would

focus on its own operations in China.

(Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)