The founder and executive chairman of the Alibaba Group Jack Ma gave a talk at the World Economic Forum (WEF) summer meeting in the city of Tianjin near Beijing on Thursday.

Ma urged calm in relation to the deteriorating trade situation between the United States and China, saying that preparation and planning would get better results than being ‘angry and irritated’ with US President Donald Trump.

He also made references to his upcoming retirement saying: "I'm not willing to die in the office, I would prefer to die on the beach when I'm old."

The summer WEF meet brings together business and political leaders, as well as economists and journalists from countries experiencing rapid economic growth like India, China and Russia.