Recently, a meeting with renowned Chinese business leaders, where Alibaba founder Jack Ma was photographed shaking hands with *** , has sparked various speculations. Ma’s return to the public eye seems to indicate that Beijing authorities may re-support the tech industry to counteract the U.S. pressure on China. Jack Ma was once a globally recognized business leader and China’s richest person, as well as the founder of Alibaba. He had been invited to speak around the world, known for his humor and charm, especially among young people. However, after criticizing China’s financial policies in 2020, he “disappeared” from public view.
After nearly four years of fading into the background, Ma made a public appearance on Monday at a financial seminar hosted by ***, igniting discussions among experts and analysts about what this means for him, the Chinese tech industry, and overall economic development. Following the meeting, tech stocks, including Alibaba, began to rise.
On Thursday, Alibaba announced financial results that exceeded expectations, with its stock price rising over 8% at the close in New York. Since the beginning of the year, the company’s stock price has increased by 60%.
Has Jack Ma regained his status?
After Chinese state media released photos of the meeting, Chinese economic analyst Bill Bishop noted that Ma’s presence at the financial conference, sitting in the front row without speaking but shaking hands with ***, signifies that Chinese authorities have restored his former reputation.
In 2020, during a financial conference, Ma commented that Chinese banks had a “pawn-shop mentality,” and subsequently faded from public view. Prior to this, he was a commanding figure in the Chinese tech industry. His critical remarks about the lack of innovation in Chinese banks led to the cancellation of Ant Group’s $34.5 billion IPO. At the time, it was believed that this was part of Beijing’s effort to rein in an overly powerful company and a forthright leader. Analysts unanimously regard Ma’s renewed prominence, attending a seminar personally hosted by ***, as a positive sign for him.
*** told attendees at the seminar that despite the challenges facing the Chinese economy, these challenges are temporary, and businesses need to maintain confidence to continue innovating. *** stated that now is a good time for private enterprises and entrepreneurs to showcase their talents. This has been widely interpreted as the Chinese government signaling that tech companies will regain favor.
Before Ma’s fall from grace, the Chinese tech industry faced extensive crackdowns from authorities, grappling with China’s control over digital assets and strict data security audits and business competition regulations. Other private sectors, such as education and real estate, also faced challenges for the sake of China’s “common prosperity” goal. Some believe this policy aims to ensure that many of China’s large companies, including billionaires like Ma, remain obedient to the central government and return to a fundamental socialist framework, promoting “common prosperity” among the populace. However, as Beijing implemented stringent new regulations, the value of many tech companies evaporated by billions of dollars, causing international investors to feel uneasy. Coupled with the deteriorating global economy due to the pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine, the situation of the Chinese economy has undergone significant changes.
China is currently experiencing slowing economic growth, a lack of job opportunities for young people, and a downturn in the real estate sector, with the income of Chinese citizens greatly diminished. Research firm Counterpoint suggests that Ma’s reappearance and meeting with the Chinese leadership indicate that China has had enough of economic stagnation and may ease policies to grant private enterprises more freedom.
The newly emerging DeepSeek AI model has recently brought back Chinese pride and quickly spread across global financial markets, with capital flowing into Hong Kong and mainland China, particularly into tech company stocks. Goldman Sachs has upgraded its outlook on Chinese stocks, stating that rapid applications of artificial intelligence could boost corporate revenue and attract up to $200 billion in investment. The significance of this innovation lies in the fact that the U.S. has banned the export of advanced chips and technology to China, which has instead accelerated the launch of DeepSeek. With Trump returning to the White House and beginning to impose tariffs and negotiations with China, *** may feel it necessary to readjust its approach toward Chinese tech and entrepreneurs.
Some analysts believe that ***’s financial conference signifies that China is attempting to guide investors and businesses toward ***’s national policies, emphasizing “high-quality development” and “new productivity” aimed at socialist modernization, driven by advanced semiconductors and manufacturing, and reducing reliance on foreign technologies, which can be understood as a new version of the common prosperity policy.
Marina Zhang, an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney, stated that Ma’s re-emergence does not indicate an end to scrutiny of the tech industry but rather signifies a shift from repression to controlled engagement. While private enterprises remain a crucial pillar of the Chinese economy, they must align with national priorities. Following this meeting, Alibaba’s stock price surged, as the Chinese government continuously emphasizes innovation and confidence, suggesting potential policy relaxations for tech companies. Analysts believe that Ma’s reappearance may be linked to the urgent need for reform in the context of slowing economic growth, especially amid difficulties for young job seekers and a sluggish real estate market. Jack Ma was once a highly sought-after figure among young people, and his apparent reconciliation with *** seems to have revitalized Alibaba, restoring investor confidence.
China needs a revival of its high-tech industry
*** emphasizes “high-quality development” and “new productivity” policies, indicating a desire to reduce dependence on foreign AI technology and promote self-innovation, closely linking Ma’s comeback with the development of Chinese tech companies. However, experts point out that this does not imply an end to scrutiny of the tech sector; rather, it represents a shift towards more controlled engagement, requiring private enterprises to adhere to national priorities while adopting more flexible regulatory policies.
Ma’s return indicates a potential change in China’s attitude toward entrepreneurs, particularly in the context of slowing economic growth, where the government may ease regulations on the tech industry. This meeting not only restores Ma’s fallen reputation but also suggests that China may accelerate tech innovation and reduce reliance on foreign technologies. Nevertheless, such changes are likely to be based primarily on national interests.
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