Alibaba aims to fulfill US jobs pledge

Jack Ma is acting to fulfill a promise he made to US President-elect Donald Trump: Get 1 million small- and medium-sized US businesses enrolled on his Alibaba online platforms to sell their products to China's growing middle class and create 1 million jobs in the US.

Ma announced on Tuesday that Alibaba Group Inc will host a two-day conference in Detroit in June to teach US businesses how to sell to the company's 443 million customers in China on the world's biggest ecommerce site.

"We are already a gateway for thousands of global brands, retailers and companies to sell to Chinese consumers. And we want to expand that gateway (and) level the playing field to make it easy for American entrepreneurs, small businesses and farmers alike to take advantage of the China opportunity," Ma, Alibaba's founder and chairman, said in an open letter published Tuesday.

Called the Gateway 17, the conference will be held at Detroit's Cobo Center on June 20-21 and is expected to attract more than 1,000 American businesses, the company said in a statement. Ma will speak at the event that will also include panel discussions, breakout sessions and networking opportunities.

Ma met with Trump in New York City in January shortly after he was elected to discuss how Alibaba could help create jobs in the US. Ma promised he would help create 1 million US jobs over five years by enabling small US businesses to sell goods on Alibaba's e-commerce platforms primarily on its Taobao and Tmall websites.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com