"Tariff war" escalates! Jack Ma goes viral! Six years ago, he boldly assessed China-US trade: If talks go poorly, just do business with 1.4 billion people, what's the big deal!
Recently, remarks made six years ago by Alibaba's main founder Jack Ma have gone viral. On January 3, 2019, at the World Zhejiang Business Forum in Shanghai, Jack Ma stated: "If trade talks go well, then you can do some foreign business; if trade talks don't go well, then just do business with 1.4 billion people, what's the big deal! China's market is enough for us, but if you don't adjust yourself and blame others, like blaming the US, it's useless; you can't change Trump, you can't even change your mom."
At the same time, Jack Ma offered advice to businesses, saying, "I want to remind everyone, regardless of whether it's good or bad, focus on yourself; adjust what's necessary, lay off if needed, look outward from your eyes, then inward; perhaps this way our businesses can weather the storm."