Jack Ma, the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA, met with President-elect Donald Trump on Monday to discuss the ecommerce giant's potential plans to expand to North America.
According to Fortune, Ma said his company could end up hiring one million Americans within a few years by connecting small businesses with the lucrative Chinese market.
Jim Cramer had a unique take on the meeting, which he shared during Monday's "Halftime Report" segment.
Cramer said that while Trump has offered some harsh rhetoric against China, the U.S. has been engaged in a trade war with the country and this has been kept hidden to the public.
However, Monday's meeting between Ma and Trump changes what may have been going on behind the scenes. Specifically, Ma, much like nearly every Chinese billionaire, is closely connected to the Chinese communist party.
Cramer suggested that Ma's meeting with Trump is "somewhat comforting" in the sense that it signals the U.S. won't actually enter into a trade war with China.
Scott Wapner added to Cramer's point that Ma isn't necessarily visiting Trump on behalf of Alibaba, rather, he's a representative of the Chinese government.
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