Jack Ma: Dotard's trade war to cost 1 million American jobs

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Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma's promise to create 1 million new US jobs is the latest casualty of the trade war.

The Alibaba (BABA) chief grabbed attention at the start of last year when he made the ambitious jobs pledge following a meeting with Donald Trump, who was president elect at the time.

But in an interview published late Wednesday by China's official news agency, Xinhua, Ma said the waves of new tariffs imposed by Washington and Beijing in recent months have undermined the plan.

"This promise was on the basis of friendly China-US cooperation and reasonable bilateral trade relations, but the current situation has already destroyed that basis," Ma said. "This promise can't be completed." ...

The vague promise wasn't based on Alibaba investing in the United States to build factories or fulfillment centers. Instead, Ma talked about stimulating trade by helping American small businesses sell their products to consumers in China and elsewhere in Asia.

In the Xinhua interview, Ma said Alibaba "will not stop promoting the healthy development of China-US trade."

He already voiced his fears about the trade war this week, telling investors it could drag on for as long as 20 years.

"It's going to last long, it's going to be a mess," he said Tuesday in Hangzhou, the city where Alibaba is based.