Jack Ma warns Alibaba, China to gear up for 20-year trade war

Short term, business communities in China, US, Europe will all be in trouble

Jack Ma, co-founder, Alibaba Group Holding

hong kong — Alibaba Group Holding co-founder Jack Ma cautioned China’s business and political leaders to prepare for the trade war with the US to last longer and have a bigger impact than most people think.

China’s richest man said the dispute could last 20 years and persist beyond the presidency of Donald Trump, as the world’s two strongest economic powers battle for global supremacy. China needs to strengthen its economy to deal with the conflict and shift trade relations from the US to regions like Southeast Asia and Africa, Ma said during a speech at the company’s investor day conference in Hangzhou.

“Short term, business communities in China, US, Europe will all be in trouble,” Ma said, pacing a stage in an open white dress shirt and punctuating his remarks with forceful jabs. His comments came just hours after China vowed to retaliate against US plans to levy tariffs on about $200 billion in Chinese goods. Ma said Alibaba will also be affected by the rising tensions, given its wholesale business allows American merchants to source products from China. But he also said the trauma will offer unprecedented opportunities for companies that can take advantage of them.