Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., left, gestures while speaking during a fireside interview at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, France, on Thursday, May 16, 2019. Donald Trumps latest offensive against Chinas Huawei Technologies Co. puts Europe in an even bigger bind over which side to pick, but France's President Emmanuel Macron is holding the line. Photographer: Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg 
How Trump’s Trade War Went From Method to Madness
The trade dispute, which has been going on for more than a year and a half, has already ensnared more than 70% of bilateral trade in goods. If the two countries can’t resolve at least some of their differences in the coming weeks, the White House on Dec. 15 will add 15% punitive tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese imports. China-based Alibaba, one of Asia’s biggest companies, is expected to ride out the storm better than some, thanks to booming online consumption in the world’s No. 2 economy. But Alibaba saw its stock dip earlier this fall on reports that the Trump administration was weighing a limit on U.S. government pension funds buying Chinese stocks.
The internet giant listed shares in New York in 2014, in the biggest ever initial public offering. It’s now readying a share sale in Hong Kong that could raise almost $12 billion. Ma sees the listing as a way to curry favor with Beijing while hedging against trade war risks.