Preventing China's rise is a "foolish" act for the US

Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma. Photo: AP

Speaking at a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma said he believes the US will “suffer more” from the current disagreement, but stressed that he remains optimistic because “as businessmen, if you are not optimistic, you should not be a businessman.”

Speaking online to business leaders and diplomats attending the conference, Mr. Jack Ma commented that he did not see any logic behind the tax counterattack that the US deployed to address the large trade deficit between this country and China.

According to Mr. Jack Ma, in fact, the US economy benefits from its trade relationship with China, pointing out that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of this Western power has grown steadily partly because of “outsourcing” to China.

Meanwhile, Alibaba Group Vice Chairman Joe Tsai made tougher statements aimed at Washington, saying that the trade war had turned into “a cold war or a geopolitical war initiated by the US.”

“I think what the United States is doing is a response to an unfounded fear that the rise of China somehow threatens the national security and prosperity of the American people,” Mr. Tsai said.

This belief is wrong, he said, because of the great integration of national economies.

“The United States is really stupid to start such a war against China and think that they can treat China the same way they treated Russia, by isolating the economy and causing pain,” Mr. Tsai said. “We are so integrated that this pain will be felt all over the world. Everyone will feel this pain.”