On June 20, 2016, CEO of Alibaba Jack Ma said at the 20th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that his biggest mistake was that he made Alibaba.

“My biggest mistake was that I made Alibaba. I never thought this thing would change my life. I was just trying to run a small business, and it grew that big, it brought about that much responsibility and brought about so much trouble.”

Jack Ma said if there was a next life, he would never do a business as big as Alibaba, “I want to be my own self, and I want to enjoy my life.”

During his trip to the forum, Ma also met with a representative of the Russian Government. Ma said it was a productive discussion and helped Alibaba to promote more business opportunities in Russia. “I think the development of e-commerce will bring more job opportunities there.”

A representative of the Russian Government claims that Alibaba and Tmall will soon set up offices in Russia.

Russia, Europe, and Southeast Asia are strategic priority areas for Alibaba. Ma points out that the company values a lot of the countries along “one belt one road” since these places do have many good products but are facing trouble with selling due to limited infrastructure.