Jack Ma Was Once Ready To 'Destroy' Alibaba To End US-China Trade War: 'I Would Be Happy If China And USA Agree On Something'

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA co-founder Jack Ma once expressed that trade wars, such as the one brewing between the U.S. and China, are obscuring deeper issues of resource allocation and wealth concentration, while posing a risk to global stability.

What Happened: In an old interview, Jack Ma acknowledged that in the past 30 years, top U.S. companies like IBM IBM, Cisco CSCO and Microsoft MSFT earned a lot of profit which are much more than the four largest banks in China put together, however, after the financial crisis of 2008, the country lost trillions of money and lots of white and blue collar jobs. The Chinese billionaire asks, “Where (did) the money go?”

He suggests that the narrative of other countries “stealing” American jobs oversimplifies a more complex issue: strategic missteps in resource allocation. Ma feels that wealth has been disproportionately distributed, favoring short-term gains over long-term stability. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have depleted resources that could have been used to support America’s industrial base and its people.

The Alibaba co-founder went on to say that the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, the U.S. and China, could have catastrophic consequences not only for these nations but also for the global economy. “It’s going to be a disaster,” said the Alibaba co-founder. He believes, “When trade stops, the war starts.”

He opined that the potential for collaboration over confrontation, even if it disrupts established business models, could yield long-term benefits of peace and mutual prosperity that would far outweigh the costs.

“I will (be) happy if China and USA agree on something…I would destroy Alibaba model by stopping the war,” stated Ma.

The Chinese tech titan also stated that it is hard to imagine that the first largest economy of the world and the second largest economy have a trade war. “If we can anybody can do something to stop it do anything to stop,” Jack Ma stated.

Why It Matters: The escalating trade tensions are not only threatening global stability but also posing serious liquidity risks for investors holding U.S.-listed Chinese stocks like Alibaba Group and JD.com Inc. JD. According to a note shared by Goldman Sachs analyst Kinger Lau, the fears of delisting for Chinese American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are rising, driven by escalating trade tensions and new policy guidance from U.S. officials.

Moreover, amid these tensions, Alibaba Group is betting big on AI with new cloud tools. The company’s co-founder, Jack Ma, reemerged to celebrate its 15th anniversary and showcased its Blossom project, which aims to accelerate AI adoption. This move indicates a strategic shift towards technological advancements, potentially reshaping the global trade dynamics.

The ADR of Alibaba Group climbed 1.99% to close at $108.87 on Thursday, as per BenzingaPro. Year-to-date, the company’s ADR surged 28.16%.