Jack Ma: Can't add 1m jobs in US due to trade fight

Jack Ma, founder and chairman of Chinese retail giant Alibaba, said his company no longer plans to create 1 million jobs in the United States because of the trade dispute between the US and China.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Tuesday, Ma said his promise was based on friendly cooperation between China and the United States and a rational growth of China-US trade.

"The promise was made on the premise of friendly US-China partnership and rational trade relations," Ma told Xinhua. "That premise no longer exists today, so our promise cannot be fulfilled."

He said that the basis for trade has been undermined, "but we will continue to work hard to promote the healthy development of China-US trade."

Trade is not a weapon and cannot be used for wars, he added. "Trade should be the propeller of peace."

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

He said access to Chinese customers through Alibaba's online marketplace would help US businesses grow and to bring 1 million small US businesses onto its platform to sell to Chinese consumers over the next five years.

"We had a great meeting," Trump told reporters, describing Ma as "a great, great entrepreneur, one of the best in the world." "He loves this country," Trump continued, "and he loves China."