- Title: Trump needs China says e-commerce giant Alibaba
- Date: 10th November 2016
- Summary: SHENZHEN, GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA (NOVEMBER 10, 2016) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS ALIBABA VICE CHAIRMAN, JOE TSAI, TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALIBABA VICE CHAIRMAN, JOE TSAI, SAYING: "If you're the American president, you have to pay a lot of attention to that because your job is to create a lot of jobs in American society. And if you don't have Chinese consumers being engaged and buying American products, and Chinese investors can't invest in the United States and create more American jobs, then you will be in trouble." CAMERA OPERATOR FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ALIBABA VICE CHAIRMAN, JOE TSAI, SAYING: "We think that when you are in the position of president, you have a responsibility to look out for your country. And the best solution for America is to engage with the rest of the world. Because we live in a global market place." CAMERA OPERATORS FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) ALIBABA VICE CHAIRMAN, JOE TSAI, SAYING: "Regarding our goal this year, actually we don't have a number for the goal, and our goal is to let all consumers be happy because today we need to make e-commerce entertainment and make everyone happy to consume on our platform with a good experience." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS BOARD READING (English): "GLOBAL SHOPPING FESTIVAL 2016"
- Embargoed: 25th November 2016 11:17
- Keywords: China Alibaba Donald Trump president elect jobs
- Location: SHENZHEN, GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA
- City: SHENZHEN, GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA00157V22IV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART VIDEO QUALITY AS INCOMING
United States (U.S.) President elect Donald Trump would need China for creating more jobs in the United States, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's Vice Chairman Joe Tsai said on Thursday (November 10) hours before the start of the "Singles Day" festival, China's biggest shopping day of the year.
Alibaba is expected to hold a performance gala with the presence of U.S. pop star Katy Perry later on Thursday before kicking off the sales at midnight (1600 GMT on Thursday).
Tsai said at a briefing that after Trump was elected president of the United States, he might need to keep good relationship with China to create more jobs in the United States.
"If you're the American president, you have to pay a lot of attention to that because your job is to create a lot of jobs in American society. And if you don't have Chinese consumers being engaged and buying American products, and Chinese investors can't invest in the United States and create more American jobs, then you will be in trouble," he said.
"We think that when you are in the position of president, you have a responsibility to look out for your country. And the best solution for America is to engage with the rest of the world. Because we live in a global market place," Tsai added.
The firm, headed by billionaire businessman Jack Ma, plans to expand "Singles Day" sales globally this year, opening up Hong Kong and Taiwan as the first markets outside China where consumers will be able to buy international products via the company's Tmall platform.
Asked about the sales goal for the day this year, Tsai said their main goal was to make all costumers happy and did not set a number for the sales at all.
"Regarding our goal this year, actually we don't have a number for the goal, and our goal is to let all consumers be happy because today we need to make e-commerce entertainment and make everyone happy to consume on our platform with good experience," Tsai said.
The one-day event, held annually on November 11, sees billions of dollars of goods sold via Tmall at steep discounts, and is a barometer for the firm's performance. Transactions last year broke past 14 billion U.S. dollars.
The festival, launched seven years ago by Alibaba, has already eclipsed the combined sales of the equivalent events in the United States: Cyber Monday and Black Friday. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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