Chinese President Xi Jinping recently met with some of the nation's leading entrepreneurs, including Alibaba's Jack Ma, as Beijing seeks to revive private businesses and boost economic growth.
Ma, once the most high-profile target of Beijing's tech crackdown, attended the meeting, signaling his return to favor after four years of political exile.
The Alibaba founder’s combative speech in late 2020 on the eve of Ant Group’s planned public listing led Xi to cancel the group’s blockbuster IPO and kicked off a crackdown on the power and influence of the country’s billionaire class.
Analysts said Xi’s first high-profile meeting with private entrepreneurs in several years signalled Beijing’s desire to present a more positive disposition towards the battered private sector. State media footage showed Ma standing and clapping alongside more than two dozen Chinese entrepreneurs as Xi entered an ornate ballroom in Beijing.
“Ma is sitting there in the front. It means private business is still important”, said Li Chengdong, head of ecommerce think-tank Haitun.
“Internet companies were the most active and hard-charging private companies — the regulatory storm they faced led many to focus on the rise of the state economy”, he said. “Now there will be more balance”.
State media said Xi gave an 'important speech' at the event. Li Qiang, China’s premier, who normally oversees economic affairs, was also present but the meeting was presided over by Wang Huning, Xi’s top political theorist, according to state media. Video showed Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei and Xiaomi chief Lei Jun reading from prepared remarks.
Chinese officials have been trying to improve the country’s business environment after a years-long property sector slowdown that, along with the campaign to rein in big tech and other sectors, damped investor and consumer sentiment and dragged on economic growth.
In the past, Xi has used similar meetings with business leaders to promise tax cuts and a level playing field with state enterprises.
“The meeting’s purpose is to tell [the private sector,] ‘We want to support you, we need you to boost tech innovation and consumption,” said Zhang Xiaoyan, professor of finance at Tsinghua University, speaking at the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association in Hong Kong.
She added that the government wanted to 'inject confidence' in Chinese companies.
Investors and Chinese internet users poured over the seating chart of Monday’s forum to gauge the importance Beijing placed on the companies and individuals arrayed before Xi.
Unitree founder Wang Xingxing, whose robots have been showcased in military exercises and news programs, took a prime spot at the front, flanked by Ren of Huawei, China’s national tech giant. Also seated in the front row were Yu Renrong, head of semiconductor company Will Semiconductor, and Liu Yonghao, founder of agriculture conglomerate New Hope.
Other notable tech executives present included Robin Zeng, chairman of leading battery maker CATL, and Meituan’s Wang Xing. Tencent’s Pony Ma, BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu, and DeepSeek AI founder Liang Wenfeng were also in attendance.
DeepSeek’s groundbreaking AI models have sparked renewed interest in Chinese technology, fueling a bull market in Chinese tech stocks. The Hang Seng Tech Index, which tracks the top 30 tech companies listed in Hong Kong, has risen by 24% since the beginning of the year.
However, China’s slowing economic growth has put pressure on private businesses, with executives facing increased scrutiny over alleged corruption and a wave of detentions by local authorities.
Haitun’s Li said the uncertainty had led many of China’s leading entrepreneurs to spend most of their time abroad. The meeting signaled that “their personal safety is not in question in China”, he said.