Xi Jinping Meets Tech Giants
Xi Jinping has held meetings with some of the most powerful business people in China, including Jack Ma of Alibaba to tackle the growing economic issues in the country. The meeting that took place at the Beijing’s Great Hall of the People included top managers of BYD, CATL, Tencent, Xiaomi and Ren Zhengfei of Huawei. The Chinese president also attended a symposium for private enterprises but did not make his speech public. Xi Jinping has over the years advocated for more government involvement in private businesses, especially in the technological sector which has been recently subjected to several strict regulations. However, as China struggles with a property crisis, weak consumer spending, and high youth unemployment, he seems to be trying to build a rapport with big shots. This was an interesting event because Jack Ma, who had been at the receiving end of regulatory pressures from the government after he challenged China’s regulatory environment in 2020, was in attendance. Images and footage of the meeting were closely watched by investors; Xi Jinping was seen to be interacting with key industry leaders. The executives who failed to attend the meeting were Bytedance, the owner of TikTok, and Baidu, whose absence resulted in an 8% share drop. The reports of the meeting positively impacted the market as the hopes were raised on the government’s support for China’s private tech sector. This means that the event is a turning point and Xi Jinping’s policy can either rebuild business confidence and strengthen the state’s control over private enterprises and determine the future of the Chinese economy.
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