Alibaba founder Jack Ma abandons pledge to Trump to create a million jobs in US, per CNBC

Jack Ma the founder of the Chinese retailing behemoth Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) is abandoning his pledge to President Donald Trump to create a million jobs in the US due to the fierce trade spat between the US and China, per a CNBC report.

Ma first offered to create the jobs while meeting with Trump prior to his inauguration in January of last year.

“The promise was made on the premise of friendly US-China partnership and rational trade relations,” Ma is reported to have told Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, according to CNBC. “That premise no longer exists today, so our promise cannot be fulfilled.”

 Ma’s remarks come a day after the US-China trade battle took another turn, with China saying it would slap tariffs on US$60bn worth of US goods to retaliate against US tariffs on US$200bn worth of Chinese exports.

The world’s biggest economies are at an impasse after failing to reach a deal that clears up their differences regarding trade policies.

Alibaba shares are trading 3.7% higher at US$162.55 on the news.

Story by ProactiveInvestors