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Trade war

Jack Ma calls for 'inclusive chips' amid US ban on ZTE

Alibaba head says countries 'should have their own technology'

Jack Ma, Alibaba co-founder and executive chairman, speaks to students at Waseda University in Tokyo on April 25. (Photo by Kaisuke Ohta)

TOKYO -- Jack Ma on Wednesday warned companies in China and elsewhere against relying on U.S. companies for chips, after Washington's recent move to ban Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE from buying American-made components.

"The market of chips is controlled by America ... and suddenly they stop selling," Ma, the billionaire co-founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding, told an audience of students at Waseda University in Tokyo. "Japan, China, any country should have their own technology. A company should take responsibility for its customers, for the global future."

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