Alibaba boss Ma vows to create one million US jobs after Trump meeting
US president-elect Donald Trump has met with the boss of Chinese conglomerate Alibaba at Trump Tower in New York, as Jack Ma pledged to cooperate with the incoming administration in order to bring one million jobs to the country.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
€96.40
17:59 27/09/24
Both Ma and Trump spoke after the meeting of their commitment to working towards improving relations between China and the United States, with the Alibaba chief saying relations "should be strengthened, should be more friendly and do better".
Trump has previously been antagonistic towards China during and after his successful election campaign in 2016, threatening to place tariffs on imports from the Asian superpower.
"Jack and I are going to do some great things," Trump said as reporters gathered when the two men emerged from the lift in the lobby of Trump Tower.
Alibaba floated on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014 after dominating the Chinese internet market with a large variety of products, including e-commerce, online payment systems and social media.
The company's IPO claimed the record for the largest of its kind in the US market, raising $25bn from selling its shares at $68 per share.
Ma is one of the richest men in China, and specifically targeted farmers and clothing makers as those who could benefit from using the Alibaba marketplace to connect with Chinese consumers.
"We're focused on small business," Ma told reporters. "We specifically talked about supporting 1 million small businesses, especially in the Midwest of America."