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Alibaba appeal: Global leaders make time for Jack Ma

Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, has met with many foreign leaders in the past two years, especially after he rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Sept 19, 2014.

Here's a look at some of the most powerful global leaders who have met with Ma.

Donald Trump, US President-Elect

Date: January 9, 2017

Place: New York

Jack Ma (right) met with US president-elect Donald Trump (left) on Jan 9, 2017. [Photo / Agencies]

Jack Ma and the United States president-elect Donald Trump met at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, for what Trump described as a "great meeting". Ma agreed, saying it was "very productive".

The two met with reporters briefly after the morning meeting, and said they discussed plans to create 1 million US jobs by allowing small and medium-sized businesses to sell to China through Alibaba's platforms.


Somkid Jatusripitak, deputy prime minister of Thailand

Date: December 8, 2016

Place: Hangzhou, China

Jack Ma (first from right) introduces the core businesses of Alibaba group to Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Somkid Jatusripitak (second from left) at the e-commerce giant's headquarters in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, Dec 8, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

A delegation led by Thailand Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak visited Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou on Dec 8, 2016.

Alibaba signed a series of contracts with Thailand's Ministry of Commerce. The two sides announced they would cooperate on e-commerce, personnel training, and logistics and supply chains. Alibaba pledged to support Thailand in its drive to build a digital economy.


Najib Razak, prime minister of Malaysia

Date: November 4, 2016

Place: Beijing

Jack Ma and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at the official launch of the Malaysia Tourism Pavilion on Alibaba's tourism arm Alitrip, which provides Malaysian travel services and information to Chinese tourists, in Beijing, Nov 4, 2016. [Photo/cyol.com]

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak invited Jack Ma to advise on creating a digital economy during his visit to China on Nov 4, 2016.

During their meeting, Najib put forward the concept of a "digital hub", which is similar to Ma's idea of an "e-hub" in the electronic world trade platform proposal. They pledged to cooperate in building a digital center and developing cloud computing.


Matteo Renzi, prime minister of Italy

Dates: September 4, 2016; April 11, 2016

Places: Hangzhou, China; Verona, Italy

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (second from left) and Alibaba's chairman Jack Ma (left) look at an exhibition of Italian wine during Renzi's visit to Alibaba's Xixi park in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, Sept 4, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited Alibaba's Xixi headquarters during his time in Hangzhou for the G20 summit. They toasted the Tmall Wine and Spirits Festival held later that month.

He invited Jack Ma to attend Vintaly, the largest wine show in the world, on April 11, 2016. Although Renzi and Ma had met five times previously, this was the first time they held an open dialogue. At Vintaly, Ma announced “Wine Day”, the first ever Tmall International Wine & Spirits Festival, will launch on September 9, which in Renzi's opinion will mark a turning point for Italian wine in China.


Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada

Date: September 3, 2016

Place: Hangzhou, China

Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pose while holding lobsters imported from Canada at the online giant's headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sept 3, 2016. [Photo by Jin Liangkuai/Xinhua]

Jack Ma met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sept 3, 2016. They celebrated the opening of the Canada Style online shop on Taobao.com, an Alibaba-backed online marketplace where Chinese consumers can directly buy specialty products from Canada.


Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia

Date: September 2, 2016

Place: Hangzhou, China

Jack Ma (second from right) accompanies Indonesian President Joko Widodo (left) and his wife during a visit to Alibaba Xixi headquarters in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on Sept 2, 2016. [Photo by Wei Zhiyang, Zhejiang Daily/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Before the G20 Summit opened in Hangzhou, Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Alibaba's headquarters on Sept 2, 2016 and invited Jack Ma to be an economic advisor.


Kevin Rudd, former prime minister of Australia

Date: June 16, 2016

Place: St Petersburg, Russia

Jack Ma talks with Kevin Rudd, president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and former prime minister of Australia, at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that opened on June 16, 2016. [Xu Jingxing/China Daily]

Jack Ma met Kevin Rudd, president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and former prime minister of Australia, while attending the 20th St Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 16, 2016.

Ma proposed the establishment of digital free trade zones for small businesses and called for Russia to become an e-hub intersection connecting Asia and Europe at the forum.


Philippe, king of Belgium

Date: May 23, 2016

Place: Royal Palace of Laeken, Brussels, Belgium

Being invited by Belgium's King Philippe, Jack Ma visited the Royal Palace of Laeken to have lunch with the king and to attend an elite party on May 23, 2016.

During the visit, Ma announced that Alibaba will set up an office in Brussels, recommend Belgium beers on the first ever Tmall International Wine & Spirits Festival on September 9, and promote Belgium chocolate during Singles' Day shopping spree, according to a report of cri.cn.

Before this meeting, King Philippe had met twice with Jack Ma at Davos World Economic Forum. And when King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium visited China last June, they also organized a meeting with Ma.

Barack Obama, president of the United States

Date: May 17, 2016

Place: White House, Washington

US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Jack Ma at the APEC CEO Summit in Manila, Philippines, November 18, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

US President Barack Obama had a lunch meeting that was not listed on his public schedule with Jack Ma in the White House on May 17, 2016. But details of their meeting have not been released yet.

Last November, President Obama had interviewed Jack Ma about climate change at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila.


John Key, prime minister of New Zealand

Date: April 18, 2016

Place: Beijing

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key talks with Jack Ma at the China Entrepreneur Club in Beijing, April 18, 2016. [Photo/chinanews.com]

During New Zealand Prime Minister John Key's sixth visit to China, Jack Ma, who is also the chairman of China Entrepreneur Club, played host to Key and a visiting New Zealand business delegation at a lunch meeting held by the club in Beijing on April 18, 2016.

In his dialogue with Ma, the prime minister invited Ma to introduce how to sell products to China through Alibaba's platforms for New Zealand's small enterprises. After the meeting, Alibaba signed a strategic cooperation agreement with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.


Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations

Date: December 5, 2015

Place: Paris

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon talks with Jack Ma at COP21 in Paris, December 5, 2015. [Photo/Xinhuanet.com]

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Jack Ma discussed the possibilities of using data technology to handle the climate issue during their meeting at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) on December 5, 2015. Jack Ma has met with Ban Ki-moon three times.


Willem-Alexander, king of Netherlands

Date: October 29, 2015

Place: Alibaba-Campus, Hangzhou, China

Netherlands King Willem-Alexander meets with Jack Ma in Hangzhou, October 29, 2015. [Photo/cri.cn]

During his visit to China, Netherlands' King Willem-Alexander met with Jack Ma and attended a ceremony to launch an e-commerce campaign for Dutch goods on Alibaba's online platform Tmall at the headquarters of Alibaba in Hangzhou on October 29, 2015.


David Cameron, prime minister of United Kingdom

Date: October 19, 2015

Place: London

British Prime Minister David Cameron appointed Jack Ma to advise him on business on the eve of President Xi Jinping's four-day state visit to the UK last year.

When Cameron met with Ma during his three-day visit to China in December 2013, he posted a selfie he took with Ma on Twitter.

Bill Clinton, former president of United States

Date: September 29, 2015

Place: New York

Former US President Bill Clinton met and spoke with Jack Ma during the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting in New York on September 29, 2015. Jack Ma also attended the previous meeting in 2014.

Vladimir Putin, president of Russia

Date: June 19, 2015

Place: St Petersburg, Russia

During Jack Ma's visit to the 19th St Petersburg International Economic Forum, he met with President Putin and talked about creating a platform that would help Russian small and medium enterprises to enter export markets.


Narendra Modi, prime minister of India

Date: March 30, 2015

Place: New Delhi

After his last visit to India in November 2014, Jack Ma visited India for the second time and met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 30, 2015. In his meeting with Modi, Ma discussed how Alibaba could help empower small enterprises in India.

After the meeting, Modi posted a tweet - “Had a very good meeting with Jack Ma”.

Francois Hollande, president of France

Date: March 18, 2015

Place: Elysee Palace, Paris

Jack Ma met with French President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace on March 18, 2015. During their meeting, Ma and Hollande discussed new trends in e-commerce, innovations in medium and small enterprises, and ways to expand cooperation between China and France.

Their first meeting was at Davos World Economic Forum in January 2015.


Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany

Date: March 15, 2015

Place: Hanover

As the headline speaker of the annual IT & Digital Business expo CeBIT 2015, Jack Ma met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hanover, March 15, 2015. During his speech, he demonstrated to Merkel how to use Alibaba's face recognition technology to make mobile payment.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

Date: March 2, 2015

Place: Shanghai

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, talks with Jack Ma in Shanghai March 2, 2015. [Photo / Xinhua]

During Prince William's royal visit to China, he had a meeting with Jack Ma when he attended the Great Festival of Creativity in Shanghai, March 2, 2015. They talked about e-commerce, football, and the environmental problems.


Michael D Higgins, president of Ireland

Date: December 12, 2014

Place: Alibaba-Campus, Hangzhou, China

Irish President Michael D Higgins meets with Jack Ma at the headquarters of Alibaba in Hangzhou, China, December 12, 2014. [Photo /Chinanews.com]

Irish President Michael D Higgins visited Jack Ma at the headquarters of Alibaba in Hangzhou when he was on a state visit in China in December 2014. They discussed how to use the e-commerce platform to promote trade between Ireland and China. During their meeting, Ma even performed tai chi for President Higgins.

Stephen Harper, former prime minister of Canada

Date: November 7, 2014

Place: Alibaba-Campus, Hangzhou, China

Stephen Harper, then-prime minister of Canada, visited Jack Ma at the headquarters of Alibaba on the first day of his visit to China in November 2014. They discussed how e-commerce could help small and medium-sized Canadian enterprises to reach China's middle class consumers. And Ma told Harper that Canadian producers had sold 20,000 lobsters through Alibaba's e-commerce platforms in 2013.

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