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'Now it’s our turn, not the government’s': Alibaba's Jack Ma says this is one Chinese economic slowdown with a silver lining

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Chinese CEO Jack Ma of Alibaba, shown in this file photo, attended a US-China business roundtable comprised of foreign and Chinese CEOs in Seattle, Washington earlier this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Reuters
Bien Perez

Jack Ma Yun, the executive chairman at e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group, sees a silver lining in China's economic slowdown as businesses get the opportunity to take the lead in stimulating the country's growth.

While government policy can be effective in stimulating exports and investment, “consumption is not done by government,” Ma said in a talk on Thursday at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business School in California. 

“It’s done by entrepreneurship and the market economy. So we have a great opportunity. Now it’s our turn, not the government’s turn," said Ma, who is in the US at the same time as Chinese President Xi Jinping is making his first official state visit there.

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READ MORE: What's in a picture? The unspoken messages in Xi Jinping's group portrait with CEOs and senior executives during his first state visit to the US

Ma was at the university to accept the Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award given to e-commerce giant Alibaba, the first Chinese company to receive that distinction, according to a report by corporate website Alizila.

You guys know how to spend tomorrow’s money or future money or other people’s money. China’s been poor for so many years, we put our money in the bank
Jack Ma Yun
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