Why Alibaba's 1 Million U.S. Jobs Pledge Shouldn't Be Taken At Face Value

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA Founder and Chairman Jack Ma met with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and brought with him the best kind of gift: a pledge to create one million U.S. jobs.

However, it would be reasonable not to take Ma's words at face value, at least according to CNBC's senior technology reporter Ari Levy.

Specifically, while it would be lucrative for American businesses to gain better access to the Chinese market, it comes with a big sets of challenges. Alibaba is notorious as being a haven for counterfeit products and as soon as an American product gains popularity in China a cheaper counterfeit will become readily available.

"It makes sales into China prohibitive," Harley Lewin, a partner at McCarter & English and expert at protecting brands and fighting infringement, told CNBC. "You can't compete with the volume of selling of fakes on the internet."

The problem becomes even larger when considering the fact that Chinese counterfeiters can expand their sales to American markets through Amazon.com or eBay.

With that in mind, Lewin added that Ma skillfully presented Trump with all key buzzwords that appeal to his administration and fit in with his economic and job creation pledges.

Rob Dunkel, the founder of a company that helps brands protect themselves against fraudulent activity, added that Ma may be personally responsible for the global problem of counterfeiting products.

"The problem that Ma's created has cost the U.S. millions of jobs," Dunkel told CNBC. "Why should we believe you now?"