Jack Ma of Alibaba: 1 million U.S. jobs won't be created due to trade war
Jack Ma, the co-founder and chairman of Alibaba, said the Chinese e-commerce giant will no longer commit to creating 1 million jobs in the U.S., blaming the countries' deepening trade war.
Ma had pledged to stimulate job growth when he met with President Trump in early 2017, saying he expected Alibaba to add the new positions over the next five years. Since then, Mr. Trump has introduced new tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese imports as he seeks more favorable trade terms. China has retaliated with its own tariffs on U.S. goods.
"This commitment is based on friendly China-U.S. cooperation and the rational and objective premise of bilateral trade," Ma told the Chinese news agency Xinhua, according to a translation from Reuters. "There is no way to deliver the promise."
Separately, Ma had warned China's business and political leaders that the trade war between China and the U.S. could last 20 years, longer than Mr. Trump's presidency, according to Bloomberg News.
"Short term, business communities in China, U.S., Europe will all be in trouble," Ma said at an investor presentation earlier this week. "This thing will last long. If you want a short-term solution, there is no solution."
