Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who once boasted his e-commerce firm would spur the creation of one million jobs in America, has rowed back on those plans.
Citing the ongoing trade war between the US and China, Mr Ma told China’s Xinhua news agency: "There is no way to complete the promise."
It follows remarks by Mr Ma at Alibaba’s investor day that the trade tensions could continue for decades.
He had previously embraced the idea of expanding in the US.
In January 2017, Mr Ma met with US President Donald Trump, outlining a plan to increase Alibaba’s presence in America and strengthen relations between the two countries.
Alibaba said access to Chinese customers through its online marketplace would help US businesses grow and hire workers - as many as one million people over five years.
However, on Thursday Mr Ma said the pledge had been based on the idea of strong US-China relations, which have now turned sour.
"The current situation has already destroyed the original premise," he said.
"There is no way to complete the promise, but we will not stop our efforts and will work hard to promote the healthy development of Sino-US trade."
He added: "The trade in the world really needs to be perfected, but trade is not a weapon, it cannot be used for war, it should be a propeller for peace."
