The other day Mr. Trump met with Jack Ma, CEO of Chinese online retail giant Alibaba, to discuss marketing agricultural products made in the Midwestern United States directly to the Chinese marketplace. Mr. Ma told reporters that he and the President-elect specifically discussed ways that Alibaba could help small businesses export their products to China on the Alibaba online retail platform. A spokesperson for Alibaba followed up the meeting by stating that Alibaba has a goal of creating 1 million new jobs in the United States by supporting small businesses and Mr. Ma confirmed those numbers. Mr. Ma was even more specific to include supporting not only small businesses but also farmers in the Midwest. Interestingly, Mr. Ma stressed the need to export fruits and vegetables, grains, and other agricultural products produced in the Midwestern United States to the vast Chinese marketplace. He also included garments in his list of products he wishes to import.
A healthy and positive relationship between China and the US is critical, as the US seeks to create jobs and increase exports. China, on the other hand, is demanding American-made agricultural products as well as others products. Mr. Ma wants the first and second largest economies to work together to solve problems like poverty, disease, and environmental pollution. Mr. Ma is confident that when Donald Trump is president, he will see that the world is not simple and that slapping a massive tariff on imported Chinese goods will not be in the best interest of either country. Mr. Ma thinks that entrepreneurship and small businesses are the areas that will support the balancing of trade between the US and China and he has pledged to work with President Trump along these lines.
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