The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, met by surprise Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire who founded Alibaba. The two discussed trade relations between Washington and Beijing and the possibility that the e-commerce giant (listed on Wall Street) would expand its presence in America, helping to create up to one million jobs in the United States.
The interview can score a turning point in relations between the incoming US administration and China, as evidenced by the words of the new American president at the end of the appointment in the Trump Tower in New York: "It was a good meeting - he said - Jack and I are going to do great things together".
Even the number one of Alibaba used more than conciliatory tones: "The door is open to discussion on commercial relations and issues. I think the president-elect is a very intelligent, open-minded person who listens. I presented him with my ideas on how to improve cross-border trade, especially for small companies".
In recent weeks, Trump had used very critical words against China and its trade policy, accusing the communist regime of stealing jobs and manipulating the yuan exchange rate. But now the scenario could change. Jack Ma, in fact, is also Xi Jinping's best friend, secretary of the Communist Party and President of the People's Republic.
It is no coincidence that the Global Times, an English-language newspaper expressing the party, wrote that Trump, despite "the tough attitude towards China, has left the door open for a collaboration based on facts".
The matter also concerns the special interests of the Trump family. Just before meeting his new friend Jack, Donald had made a White House adviser Jared Kushner, husband of her daughter Ivanka. And the New York Times recalls that in recent days the American President's son-in-law, by paying for a thousands-dollar lunch with an eye to possible real estate deals, had tried to win the sympathy of Wu Xiahoui, the very powerful Chinese so involved in the regime that he married Deng Xiaoping's niece and so rich that he owns the grand hotel Waldorf Astoria in New York.
