Jack Ma: "No way" to a million jobs in the United States

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Alibaba's founder, Jack Ma, who boasted that his e-commerce company was going to create a million jobs in America, has resumed these plans.

Citing the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, Ma told the Xinhua news agency: "There is no way to keep the promise."

This follows Ma 's remarks at Alibaba' s investor day that trade tensions may persist for decades.

He had already embraced the idea of ​​expanding to the United States.

In January 2017, Mr. Ma met with US President Donald Trump, outlining a plan to increase Alibaba's presence in America and strengthen relations between the two countries.

Alibaba said that access to Chinese customers via its online market would help US companies grow and hire workers – up to a million people over five years.

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However, on Thursday, Ma said the commitment was based on the idea of ​​strong relations between the United States and China, which have now turned sour.

"The current situation has already destroyed the original principle," he said.

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"There is no way to fulfill that promise, but we will not stop our efforts and we will work hard to promote the healthy development of Sino-US trade."

He added: "Trade in the world really needs to be perfected, but trade is not a weapon, it can not be used for war, it should be a propeller for peace."

& # 39; Good things & # 39;

Alibaba's promise of employment follows investments by the company in US companies such as Snapchat and Jet.com, as well as efforts to launch an online sales site in the United States.

After their meeting in 2017, Mr. Trump looked positive, telling reporters, "Jack and I are going to do great things."

A few weeks later, Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba 's digital payment subsidiary, announced its intention to acquire the US money transfer company Moneygram.

But the deal has never progressed, relations between the United States and China have deteriorated.

In August 2017, Trump ordered an investigation into Chinese business practices, accusing the country of unfair treatment of US companies.

In January, his administration blocked the Moneygram agreement from Ant Financial for reasons of national security.

The United States has since announced tariffs of up to 25% on Chinese imports, estimated at $ 250 billion in 2017. The new round will come into effect next week.

China has responded by increasing its own tariffs on products made in the United States. Analysts also warned that US companies selling in China could face a nationalistic reaction against their products.