President Xi meets with tech business leaders

President Xi Jinping met with private sector business leaders yesterday, state media reported, as government officials work to revive an economy disrupted by a pandemic, regulatory crackdowns and a real estate crisis.

Among the delegates was Jack Ma, who founded e-commerce firm Alibaba in the 1990s and was once China’s richest man. He has kept a low profile with few public appearances in recent years after he publicly criticized China’s regulators and financial systems during a speech in Shanghai.

Other business leaders at yesterday’s meeting in Beijing were Zeng Yuqun, the chairman of battery developer CATL, Wang Chuanfu, chairman of electric cars manufacturer BYD, and Pony Ma, the CEO of Tencent, which owns WeChat, according to a video of the meeting from state broadcaster CCTV and a state media report.

According to the state media report, Xi made “important remarks” to the gathered delegates.

The president said the government would “sincerely protect the legal rights of private businesses and entrepreneurs, according to the law.” But, “at the same time, we must realize that our country is a socialist country ruled by law, and any type of illegal activities by enterprises cannot avoid investigation and punishment.”

Ma, one of the wealthiest men in the country, gave a speech in Oct 2020 in which he said regulators were too conservative. The government responded by scuttling his plans for Ant Group ‘s stock market debut, the finance-focused business which grew out of Alipay, the popular digital payments system. They also then forced Ant Group to restructure, dividing it into multiple independent businesses.

Alibaba was also investigated and fined $2.8 billion for breaching antitrust rules. MDT/AP