SHANGHAI: The US-China trade war is the “stupidest thing in the world,” Alibaba e-commerce tycoon Jack Ma declared at an import fair that China opened Monday partly to counter foreign criticism of its trade policies.
Ma, who recently took back an earlier pledge to create a million jobs in the US — blaming the trade war launched by Donald Trump — made the comments in a panel discussion at the massive expo in Shanghai.
“(The) trade war is the stupidest thing in this world,” the Alibaba founder said, without mentioning Trump by name.
“Trade is to form ... peace. Trade is to communicate ... nobody can stop free trade.”
President Xi Jinping opened the China International Import Expo earlier Monday with a vague pledge to widen access to his country’s economy, as Beijing faces growing impatience from trading partners.
But he also delivered a veiled rebuke to Trumpism, decrying “protectionism,” “isolationism” and “the law of the jungle.”
Ma, the billionaire owner of China’s largest online shopping portal, made the headline-grabbing job-creation promise to Trump last year, when Beijing was still courting the then-newly elected president.
But Ma told official news agency Xinhua in September that the trade war had “destroyed the premise the promise was made on.”
Anger over the trade surpluses that China enjoys has triggered growing foreign criticism and the worsening commercial conflict with Washington, which has seen both sides impose punitive tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods.
Beijing has touted the first annual import expo as a sign of its willingness to take in more imports and thereby reduce the surpluses.
Ma, who announced in September that he would step aside in a year’s time to focus on philanthropy, said China’s plans to remake itself as an importing nation would provoke resistance from vested interests.
“For my understanding, it’s the greatest challenge for China. It’s a great opportunity for the world,” he said.
The shift will “fundamentally change ... the whole infrastructure of business and (the) ecosystem. It’s going to be a huge pain to a lot of businesses, but it’s also going to be a good opportunity for a lot of consumers.”
Alibaba’s Jack Ma calls trade war ‘stupidest thing in the world’
Alibaba’s Jack Ma calls trade war ‘stupidest thing in the world’
- ‘(The) trade war is the stupidest thing in this world’
- ‘Trade is to form ... peace. Trade is to communicate ... nobody can stop free trade’
Operational challenges bring Riyadh Airport to a near standstill
- Airlines issue statements, while sources tell Arab News rain is to blame
RIYADH: Thousands of passengers travelling to and from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh were left stranded as major airlines struggled to offer alternative flights following a slew of cancellations and delays.
Saudia and flyadeal were among the aviation firms who faced difficulties, with the two airlines putting out statements blaming temporary operational challenges for the issues.
A statement from the airport on its official X account urged travelers to contact airlines directly before heading to the aviation hub to verify the updated status and timing of their flights.
The statement said: “King Khalid International Airport would like to inform you that, due to the concurrence of a number of operational factors over the past two days —including several flights diverting from other airports to King Khalid International Airport, in addition to scheduled maintenance works within the fuel supply system — this has resulted in an impact on the schedules of some flights, including the delay or cancellation of a number of flights operated by certain airlines.”
The airport added that operational teams are working “around the clock in close coordination with our airline partners and relevant stakeholders to address developments and restore operational regularity as soon as possible”, while taking all necessary measures to minimize any impact on the passenger experience.
Airport sources told Arab News that the issue has to do with the heavy rain Riyadh experienced earlier on Friday. Water apparently got into the fuel tankers supposed to refuel jets before they fly, and then several airlines struggled to re-schedule passengers.
It its own statement on X, Saudia said: “Affected guests are being contacted through various communication chanels, with all ticket changes processed at no additional cost.”
Arab News reached out to Saudia for further information.
Also in a post on X, flyadeal said any of it passengers impacted by the disruption “will be notified directly by emails and SMS with rebooking and support options.”
