Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is shelving plans to create 1 million jobs in the US as fallout from the ongoing trade war between the two countries continues.
Founder and chairman Jack Ma said the company could no longer keep its promise, made to US President Donald Trump shortly after his election victory in early 2017, after the latest round of US tariffs and the material effect it would have on the company.
Speaking to state-run media outlet Xinhua, Ma said his promise, made in early 2017, was based on the assumption that the US and China would have “rational trade relations”, and that such a state no longer exists.
“This promise was based on a friendly US-China partnership. The current situation has already ruined that. There is no way to complete the promise now, but we won’t stop working hard to promote the healthy development of China-US trade.”
Ma announced plans to retire earlier this month, handing over the reins of the company to current CEO Daniel Zhang.
The initial promise did not contain any detail and sceptics said it would be extremely difficult to achieve in the first place.
Ma also stated earlier this week that the current trade situation was a mess that could last for decades, and that trade should be used for peace, not war.
Alibaba’s share price was not unduly affected by the statements, rising by 3.77 per cent overnight on the NYSE.
