The News
Chinese leader Xi Jinping plans to meet with some of the country’s most influential entrepreneurs this week, in a “potentially momentous show of support for the private sector,” Bloomberg reported.
Beijing invited the heads of Tencent and DeepSeek to the symposium, as well as Alibaba’s Jack Ma, who has kept a low profile since criticizing China’s regulatory system in 2020, which in turn prompted authorities to halt his fintech firm’s IPO.
Amid the country’s economic downturn, the gathering could reassure global investors that “another crackdown is not around the corner,” one analyst said; Tencent, Xiaomi, and Alibaba stocks rose on the news.
However, experts at Trivium China warned that sentiment will worsen if Xi seeks “to emphasize that private companies prosper at the will of the state.”