Alibaba's Jack Ma On The Company's New Frontiers I Fortune

Jack Ma discusses Alibaba's future, AI, China's growth, and innovation at the Fortune Global Forum.

Key Takeaways

Alibaba is investing heavily in technology to benefit society, not just the company.
Artificial intelligence should enhance human life and not be feared.
China’s political stability and large educated population provide a strong foundation for growth and innovation.
Innovation is about solving real problems efficiently, not just disruption.
Empowering small businesses and inclusivity are central to Alibaba’s philosophy.

What the video covers

Jack Ma shares insights on Alibaba's transformation of commerce and finance in China.
He talks about his recent martial arts movie and the importance of fun alongside business.
Alibaba plans to invest $15 billion in R&D over five years focusing on inclusive technology.
Ma emphasizes technology should empower others, not just Alibaba, and highlights AI's role.
He discusses the importance of balancing IQ, EQ, and LQ (love quotient) in education.
Jack Ma expresses optimism about AI despite potential risks highlighted by Elon Musk.
He praises China's political stability, safety, growing middle class, and talent pool.
Ma explains how stability and innovation coexist in China’s unique environment.
He stresses globalization, entrepreneurship, and solving big problems as keys to innovation.
Alibaba’s mission remains empowering small businesses, youth, and women through technology.

Chapters

What is Alibaba's approach to investing in technology?

Alibaba plans to invest $15 billion over five years in technology with a focus on inclusivity, empowering others, and creating a lasting legacy similar to Bell Labs.

How does Jack Ma view artificial intelligence?

Jack Ma is optimistic about AI, emphasizing that it should improve human lives and not be feared, while highlighting the importance of human qualities like love that machines cannot replicate.

What are Jack Ma’s views on China’s political and economic environment?

He praises China's political stability, safety, and growing middle class, believing these factors create a strong foundation for sustained growth and innovation.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

So our next guest runs one of the fastest growing companies in the world, which has totally transformed commerce and finance in China. He's not only a business magnate, he is a philosopher, a philanthropist, and recently became a martial arts movie star. So please

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welcome the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, Mr. Jack Ma. Thank you. Thank you, Ella. Good, thank you. I have to start with the movie, okay? So, what, it's been seen, I'm told, by 300 million people. What convinced you to

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make a martial arts movie? Well, this is real magic. I think when you are doing business, you focus on the KPI, revenue, and the profit. I think life is so boring about that. You have to do something fun.

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So I have an... I love magic, I love singing songs, and I love kung fu. So I think I want to make myself happy and meanwhile make my customers happy, my friends happy. Could you tell everyone here how to find

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the movie in case they haven't seen it yet? Yeah, it's already on YouTube, Facebook. I know you could. Well, I try to do something better. I spent 12 days, 9 o'clock in the morning to 9 o'clock in

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the evening. I never was late for one minute. I never knew making a movie takes such a long effort. Oh, that's fun. Good. Well, we all look forward to, we all look forward to seeing it. Thank you so much for being a part of

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the Fortune Global Forum. My honor. And I'm sure, as you heard earlier, the three big trends that we are looking at are trends that are central to your business and your business philosophy. One is the rapid changes

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being brought about by technology. Yep. The second is the changes in the way people are thinking about globalization and the political backlash that lies there. And then the third is the continuing rise of the Chinese economy, which you've

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been such an integral part of. So you announced recently that Alibaba is going to invest 15 billion dollars, billion dollars, in research and development. How are you going to focus that investment? Well, first up, my request to my team: 15

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billion dollars next five years on technology. I have one request: this lab shall last longer than Alibaba. This will be our legacy to this world. It's not about... it's not about the... we want to invest in technology, improve,

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empower ourselves. It's something that we want to build this thing like Bell Labs for human beings. And the second request I have is that the job is not like most of the traditional technology companies. Traditional technology companies

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try to empower themselves. I want to use this money to make the technology empower others, making sure that technology is inclusive. I want to say if you invest, if you have this technology, you need to have $10,000. I want to sell this technology for $1 with

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50% of profit. So this research and development is not for the benefit of Alibaba, it's for the benefit of the world, human beings. As a company like us, we're big, we have resources, we have money, we have engineers, we have infrastructure,

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and we are so profitable and we know we'll continue to be profitable. But the thing, the money we have, by investing the money in technology, of course benefits us, but will also benefit all the small businesses, all the young people. You

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expect artificial intelligence to be a big part of what you invest in? Yeah, of course. But the thing is, we want to make sure the artificial intelligence, which we call machine learning, right? People call it artificial. I don't like that

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word. We want to make sure this is improving human lives. We want to make sure people, human beings, benefit from the technology. People like me, know nothing about technology, but we learn, we benefit from technology, and we want to

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make sure people should not be scared of the technology because technology, the computer, they're smarter, they never forget, they have patience, they never get angry, but they don't have a value, don't have a mission, they don't have

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love. So that's why in the future, what we have to be careful about is our education system. We have to focus on the IQ, EQ, and LQ, the Q of love. Where the Q of love, you are different from machines.

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So technology can't help you on the LQ, you know? Yeah. So do you agree with Elon Musk that artificial intelligence could potentially be a threat to humanity? Yes and no. Part of it is right, but I'm more confident, optimistic for the future. I hear

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I noticed human beings have been worried about technology for hundreds of years, and human beings should have confidence. I think we have a lot of problems we don't have solutions for today, but there are solutions. We don't have solutions,

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but we have to believe our kids have solutions, our grandchildren have the solutions. So don't worry about it. There's always people smarter than we are. We should not think we are the smartest people in the world, but

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you want the smartest people in the world in your research centers, I assume? Well, they're smart, the people on artificial intelligence and their computer science, they are, but not necessarily all the others like philosophy, life, and value, and all the

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other stuff. So let's talk about China. I mean, the last two decades have been extraordinary, unprecedented in history to see the rapid growth of this country. Can I continue? Sure. I've been traveling so many countries last year, in the year

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before. I think I was so confident in China. Number one, the stability of the political system. People criticize China, the one-party, but you see in the past 20 years or 30 years, amazing things have changed. In America, democratic or

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republican, you don't know. We've got confused about the policy of democratic and cover self. Democracy is always changing. You don't know who will be the next president, and you just get used to that. There's a new policy comes. So China

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is stabilized. You will never see a party, a country like that. It's so stabilized. I've been traveling so many countries. Second, tonight... yeah, we'll go ahead. Go. The second thing is China is such a safe society. We don't have 2 or more

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than 200 million guns, people own it, right? We don't see a lot of people have a gambler, you know, that they did the robbing and things and stuff within a country of 1.4 billion population. It's comparatively the most

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safe country in the world. And one-third the market in the past 30 years, Chinese big but shallow, not deep. Today, China market is wide and deep. We got 300 million middle-class people, which is all with the same size as

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America. In the next 10 years, we're going to have above half a billion people will be middle class. We have a layer of different income people. And the other thing is very important with talents. See, I think we've got more than 150

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million people have a high degree of education, which is almost like 50% of the American population. And lastly, I am confident in this country. If this country is still talking about globalization, it's still talking about open-door policy and encouraging

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entrepreneurship. So this is on the Fortune Global Forum about... we go back to the first one, stability. Yeah, the theme of this conference is openness and innovation. Can a country that is so focused on stability also be a source of

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leading-edge innovation? I mean, innovation in many ways is about disruption. It's about creating instability. It's almost the opposite of stability. I think history proved past ten years, especially last five years, the system of stability in China worked very

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well, but also we have Alibaba where the ten center will be R&D, you know? We have all the old innovations coming up. Innovating is not about engineering. Innovation is about you solve problems for today, tomorrow, and future. So this is

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what I believe. Where's the innovation come from? You have to solve the problem, the big problem. You have to solve the problem in a different way, most efficient way, and you have the subproblem by results. So I think China truth... I want to take questions from the audience in a minute, and there are a thousand people out there, so there may be a lot of questions. Prepare yourself, but before...

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subproblem by results so i think china truth III want to take questions from the audience in a minute and there are thousand people out there so there may be a lot of questions that prepare yourself but before we do if China

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continues to grow it's such a big market such a rich market you're moving from virtual to online do you have any need to go to the rest of the world can you build your business here in China no I

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think it's one of the 80% of my reason last year going global is that going all the countries is I want to share our experience I want to see my view and our view that globalization is a great step

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it's just a baby let's improve it trade is so good because when trader stops wall starts if trade stops peace stops so this is why we're travelling around world one world one belt we have to making sure everybody benefit from the

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free trade we have to making sure every country benefit from the globalization we have to sure farmers can sell things we have to making sure young people benefit are you out of are you worried that we may be headed towards a trade

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war well I don't think so I think people are smart I think people understand that it's easy to launch a war but it's so difficult to stop a war you you've had this conversation with President Trump can you tell us about what you learned

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from that yeah I think he listened I talked in about how important trade is how important it should be doing business with China globally and I think he's making progress he's trying hard fight we see the China USA trick we have

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a problems right not only you know two countries the problem is very simple and there you see even wife and a husband have problems so I think they are trying their best we think that's why it's we should never wait for politicians a

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president to talk business people we have to do our best to build up the environment to build to connect ourselves to talk we should never wait for policies we should go before the policy and try to do it that's why

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that's a good message for this group the optimistic and take action day so when you as Alibaba goes out into the rest of the world and and begins to conquer the rest of the world the way its conquered

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China no we're not a conquer we are serving serving the rest of the world the way you serve China who's your most dangerous competitor is it Amazon or is it ten-second well people always think compare us with Eminem is a great

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company I respect I've been seeing them from a tiny to that big and I think there was continued to grow but we are different we Emerson is an e-commerce company we are not ecommerce company we enable other people to do ecommerce we want to

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making sure everybody can be Amazon so you st. 10 centers the greater is of course their great a company and you know it's it's not easy to be that size within only such less than 20 years so innovative and so creative are so

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different on social technology and they're basting certainly in dungeon and they're almost everywhere in China or respect of course we compete but compete does not mean I have to hate them so Pony mob will be here this afternoon do

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you have a question you'd like us to ask him I don't have a question press him and probably him and people on his dream this is what I say you know we don't hate your competitors respect your competitors learn from him

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but you know pony and I we've been doing the charity together the Nature Conservancy and protected the or but we compete each other but when we compete each other we should respect each other I respect him I respect him scent let's

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take some questions from the audience anyone out there right right right here up front can we get a paddle up front thank you burn right here in the front row Thank You mr. ma I have a question I'm from Portland gamble and my name's

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michael choo my question is about when Ali Papa become bigger and bigger what's your perspective on free competition freedom in the market versus monopoly thank you okay that's a good question would you repeat the question I'm not sure

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yeah his question is when Alibaba is getting bigger and bigger so what is the free market how what do you think about the monopoly right right first let me see this Alibaba will get a bigger and bigger but Alibaba itself is not big we

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are empowered we are economy we're not a normal company we are enabler we're in neighbor of small business to reach the consumers for example we are in neighbor PNG to reach into the rural areas of China right this is something

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that traditional channel can never do we are in neighbor every small business to reach the money we're enabling every small business to take the technology in a very cost effective ways we call ourself we are infrastructure building the infrastructure of doing business

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this is what we do and the other thing I want to see mine happening it is so difficult to monopoly monopoly what does monopoly me guys monopoly Emily no is that like 300 years ago the Empress house they give this some

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special license to the young people and the government controlled the the Monica family they don't give him this is where last century's in the industry period because you have the money if your lives or the banks you can control today tell

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me any internet companies can guarantee he will be succeeds as for for more than five years very difficult we saw yeah who disappeared we saw Netscape disappeared last eighteen years Alibaba transformed themselves at least eighty times so you not the least we are

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not like yesterday no concerns about monopolistic power in the tech community I cannot sleep well every day because I know where the company's big you not a move fast don't wait for the other people to kill us we will separate

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ourselves how do you keep Alibaba from thinking like a big company you always have to worry you have to paranoid and you have to enable the others so this is what we think - you have big company have to operate like small company if

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you cannot open operate a company in a small like a small company you're dead so I think the last advice is I give to myself and give to you is that last century the bigger the better this century the good the better do the

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business not because the size it is not necessary the big size you are the more profit you are you really believe that I believe that's a difference you know we got a fortune 500 companies you you judge because of the size how many of

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them are really happy how many of them profit no small companies they are very profitable they're very happy because spend time was the wife and a husband and kids traveling around and that's life I I would just take take a moment

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to point out that while the fortune 500 does rank companies on sighs three years ago Cliff Lee if the editor of Fortson started to change the world list the ranks companies on their ability to do good in the world so that's great a

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lover with other questions right here again upfront do we have a mic up front it's a big room thank you hi Jeff do you think Alibaba has reached a summit of the peak what do you sing is future cruise engine for Ari

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and if some company will rise and the server's re intensive which sector of the economy do you think that will be okay so the question is said is Alibaba at the peak right and the the the which sectors that companies and around the

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world can do better than Alibaba Oh Tennyson well Alibaba has just finished its 18 year anniversary we want to last a hundred two years so we have 84 years to go why 102 years because every number you give your team should be serious should

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be accurate we were born 1999 last century we had a one year this century we want to have one hundred years and plus one year 1 or 2 cross 3 centuries so we never say we're successful 18 years which is about 18 years like 80

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years to us with we have we have overcome so many problems and difficulties so I think we're just the beginning the world is so interesting full of great opportunities so we think you know cloud computing just the beginning artificial intelligence how

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can artificial intelligence empower your our customers instead of empower ourselves how we can reach build up a network that every countries in the world are connected because of the e-commerce this is what we think so I think we are just a baby or at least

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we're we're just a young person yeah I don't worry about the it's the you know we today our GMD wise ranking number 21 economy of the world but our expectation our vision year 2036 we want to be the fifth largest economy

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of the world wide 2036 next 20 years you have to prepare for that well the Trudeau PM from Canada he said that Canada is a great place to do business let me tell you the virtue economy Alibaba is a great place to do business

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we build up a new user laws and by the way as your second question opportunity is everywhere opportunity means responsibility what problem you solve for the world we're bigger than a big opportunity as the last question right here in the second row game jack is

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always great to hear your talk very inspiring Alibaba today is not just an e-commerce player you are a complete ecosystem from online to offline to payments you're also leader in AI and cloud computing you yourself Jack are not only

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a great leader of a great company but you've become a great spokesperson for Entre Nous ership in China so what is your next ambition what about your global ambition today alibaba's business is predominantly from China 90% in revenues from China so what is the next

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step you have reached the pinnacle of success already tell us about your ambition in the next 20 years both your personally and for ali papa thank you jack thank you so much for the question thank you i'm the

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fretted i i was born a very poor family in a city beautiful city code and so i learned myself and everybody nobody expect i will be today I never thought I would be today I am a very lucky person

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fortune 500 I'm a fortunate person I really honored I never know why I'm so lucky him my life with so many great people doing so many things of course people hate me people like me all right right but for

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Alibaba I wanna making sure this company never forget the first day love mission we have empower small business empower young people empower women using technology and this is what I cannot a guarantee Alibaba will be profitable and the most profitable company plug myself

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but I would try to do anything before I retire making sure the people remember the mission the valley the vision of the company and continue to do that this is the company we go empower small business young people women but for my personal

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life I don't want to die in the office I want to die in the beaches I want to enjoy my life because we come to this world not to work we come to this world to enjoy life make your

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friends have good families and traveling around the world so Janet I want to do something but of course I will not only enjoy life I will be a teacher a back to my teaching experience Hoopa University and trip renews I want to do Jack Ma

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Foundation the Environment Protection empower the poor people this is something that i'm i would put 90 percent of my time is that and as always i love to spend the time with the young people entrepreneurs so this is what i

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want to do very quickly before we before we go you have a lot of chinese companies in this room but you have a lot of non Chinese companies in this room that want to do business here your won best piece of advice to companies

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that want to do business in China doing business in China is difficult just like doing business in any country don't tell me Chinese and the most difficult if you cannot survive in China I barely think you cannot survive in a

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lot of other countries doing business in other countries number one rule respect the culture respect the market respect the consumers number two rows have a strong leadership scent people with great entrepreneurs not sent people like professional managers those people make boss happy

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not make it the custom happy they have to make custom happy not boss happy and a third have patience if you don't have patience a lot of internet companies come to China they want have a quick wing I want a wing with the one year I

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want to I pure next year I want to be successful three years impossible China is huge market have patience police I was in stop act last night they've been here for 18 years for the first and nine years big

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mess last nine years great so China we do have a lot of successful multinational companies warm at Cisco IBM Microsoft so many companies made fortune in China but of course up and down just like any business so have

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patience and respect market respect the rules and laws that's all I want to share Jack thank you thank you very much thank you thanks for being gay [Applause]

Topics:Jack MaAlibabaFortune Global ForumArtificial IntelligenceChina EconomyTechnology InvestmentInnovationGlobalizationEntrepreneurshipMartial Arts Movie

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