Standing outside his friend’s cupcake shop, he says Donald Trump’s levies are a sign that America feels threatened by China’s rise. America’s power is declining, he says. “To be honest, what you feel in today’s world is that hegemony is very hard to achieve.

On Monday, after Xi's visit, Beijing warned countries against signing trade deals with the U.S. "at the expense of China’s interest."

On February 17th Mr Ma along with a handful of other entrepreneurs met at a symposium in Beijing with Xi Jinping, China’s supreme leader. Many see this as Mr Ma’s rescue from the wilderness—and a sign that,