When Alibaba's top executive visited Trump on January 11, 2017, he solemnly promised the freshly elected president of the US to create a million American jobs. In addition, he would be making it easier for small American companies to sell their products in China through his online platforms. This was music to Trump's ears, who intended to turn job creation into a key point of his policy.
At the time, a number of American experts had their doubts. Harley Lewin of the New York-based law firm McCarter & English formulated it rather colourfully: "Ma is a PR genius and Trump is a sucker for anyone kissing his you-know-what". It now looks like those experts have been vindicated, as Ma has withdrawn his promise in an interview with Chinese press agency Xinhua.
According to retaildetail.eu, he puts the blame squarely on the American government: "That promise was based on a fertile partnership between China and the United States and on rational trade relations. The current situation is very different."
