Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma really sees no point to the seemingly endless trade-tariff squabble between the United States and China.
The purpose of trade should be to promote peace and communication rather than conflict, he said at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, RT.com reported.
“Trade war is the most stupid thing in this world,” Ma said.
“Nobody can stop the free trade.”
Meanwhile, Democrats will use their new majority in the U.S. House of Representatives to reverse what they see as a hands-off approach by Republicans toward President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, and push for tougher dealings with Russia, Saudi Arabia and North Korea.
Representative Eliot Engel, the Democrat in line to head the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said they may also push for congressional authorization for the use of military force in places like Iraq and Syria, Reuters reported.
But on some hot-button areas, like China and Iran, he acknowledged there was little they could do to change the status quo.
Democratic House control is not expected to yield significant changes in China policy. Democrats will hold more hearings and demand more briefings, but criticism of Beijing has so far crossed party lines and that is not expected to change.
Prominent Democrats, such as Representative Adam Schiff, who is in line to chair the House Intelligence Committee, have joined Republicans backing measures to clamp down on China, like legislation treating ZTE Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. technology and phones as major cyber security threats.
But Engel and others acknowledged the need for China as a partner, particularly in dealing with North Korea. “I think we need to be careful not to lash out,” Engel said.
Like Republicans, Democrats are divided on Trump’s trade war with China. Some party members see free trade as a generator of jobs, while others back tariffs to protect workers in industries such as steel and manufacturing.
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