Alibaba founder Jack Ma says the US-China trade war is 'going to be a mess' and could last 20 years

• The US and China trade war could last 20 years,Alibaba founder Jack Ma said.

• Ma made the remark after President Donald Trump ordered the US Trade Representative to impose fresh tariffs on $US200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

• When commenting about his coming retirement, Ma says he has been prepared for it for over 10 years.

• Watch Alibaba trade in real time here.

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The trade war between US and China could last 20 years and have a bigger impact than most people think, Jack Ma, the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, the largest e-commerce site in China, said.

"It's going to last long, it's going to be a mess," the tech tycoon said Tuesday at an annual investor conference in Hangzhou, China. The US-China could last for "maybe 20 years," he added, according to CNN.

Monday evening, President Donald Trump ordered the US Trade Representative to impose tariffs of 10% on another $US200 billion worth of Chinese goods. That means more than half of all goods coming into the US from China will be subject to the duties.

Ma's appearance on Tuesday was his first appearance in front of investors after announcing his plans to step down as Alibaba executive chairman on September 10, 2019. When commenting about his coming retirement, he said it's not a "sudden decision" and he has been prepared for it for more than 10 years.

"Alibaba will last 102 years, and no one can be a 102-year CEO," Ma said, according to Chinese financial blog Sina.

Ma was profiled by Bloomberg earlier this month, and said he wanted to follow the playbook of the billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates after retirement.

Shares of Alibaba are down 14% this year through Monday.

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