Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday presided over a meeting with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) cofounder Jack Ma (馬雲) and other prominent entrepreneurs, signaling Beijing’s endorsement for a long-marginalized private sector now considered key to reviving the world’s No. 2 economy.
The country’s leader drew many of the biggest names in Chinese business over the past decade, representing industries from chipmaking and electric vehicles (EVs) to artificial intelligence (AI). The summit demonstrated Beijing’s softer stance toward the private-sector companies that fuel most of the country’s economy, just as Washington ramps up a potentially debilitating campaign of global tariffs.
Xi delivered a speech after listening to representatives of firms including Ma, Meituan (美團) cofounder Wang Xing (王興) and Xiaomi Corp (小米) chief executive officer Lei Jun (雷軍), Chinese state media reported.
Photo: Florence Lo, Reuters
Also present were Unitree Robotics (宇樹) founder Wang Xingxing (王興興) and Huawei Technologies Co (華為) founder Ren Zhengfei (任正非) — considered key figures in China’s ambition to reduce its reliance on US technology.
Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) founder Pony Ma (馬化騰) — whose WeChat pioneered the “super app” concept that has since been lauded by Elon Musk — attended, a person familiar with the meeting said.
BYD Co (比亞迪) founder Wang Chuanfu (王傳福) and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (寧德時代) founder Robin Zeng (曾毓群) also joined the assembly, driving home China’s rapid ascent in EVs.
“This is the strongest signal China could release to boost social confidence. The fact that Xi Jinping himself shows up to meet with the entrepreneurs highlights the political significance of this meeting,” Singapore University of Social Sciences School of Law senior lecturer You Chuanman (游傳滿) said.
Authorities have taken a less combative approach more recently as China’s economy slowed and companies aligned themselves with Xi’s push for leadership in areas such as AI.
Alibaba’s Qwen (通義千問) model has performed well in official benchmark tests and signaled the company’s growing relevance in the field, while Apple Inc is incorporating its AI technology into Chinese iPhones, a vote of confidence in its growing prowess in the field.
“It’s an enabling policy rather than a 180-degree shift,” You said. “China has been pivoting from over-regulation on the property market and private sector before COVID[-19] to releasing positive policy signals to the private economy. We’ve seen a continuing shift in tone from Beijing toward the private sector: tolerance, improvement and encouragement.”
It remains unclear to what extent authorities plan to shift their stance toward the private sector. A show of support by Xi would almost certainly add fuel to the stock-market rally and revive animal spirits among entrepreneurs, but much would depend on whether authorities follow through with more concrete policy actions.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
SECTOR LEADER: TSMC can increase capacity by as much as 20 percent or more in the advanced node part of the foundry market by 2030, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to lead its peers in the advanced 2-nanometer process technology, despite competition from Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp, TrendForce Corp analyst Joanne Chiao (喬安) said. TSMC’s sophisticated products and its large production scale are expected to allow the company to continue dominating the global 2-nanometer process market this year, Chiao said. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is scheduled to begin mass production of chips made on the 2-nanometer process in its Hsinchu fab in the second half of this year. It would also hold a ceremony on Monday next week to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
RSS