Alibaba Holdings founder Jack Ma has been seen in China after spending months abroad in a possible sign that Beijing is turning to the tech giants again after an 18-month crackdown targeting the sector.
Ma visited the Yungu School in Hangzhou, the city where Alibaba is headquartered, to talk with teachers about how to provide education for children in the age of artificial intelligence, according to the school’s WeChat post.
The billionaire said that technologies such as the famous “ChatGPT” have brought challenges to education, but artificial intelligence can be used to solve problems, according to what was reported by “CNBC”, and viewed by “Al Arabiya.net”.
This is the first time that “Ma” has appeared publicly in China since last year, as he has traveled outside China in the past few months and has been seen in Spain, Japan and Thailand.
Ma’s resurgence follows an intense crackdown on his empire that began in late 2020 when fintech giant Ant Group was forced to suspend its massive listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, after Ma made seemingly critical comments about the financial regulator in China before delisting.
Subsequently, Beijing tightened regulations for the domestic sector. Alibaba, which Ma founded, was hit with a $2.6 billion antitrust fine in 2021.
Ant Group is undergoing restructuring under China’s central bank to comply with regulations while Ma has been slowly giving up control of the fintech company.
This comes as China’s tightening of rules on the technology sector sparked investor fears that President Xi Jinping was turning on private companies and businessmen.
However, China faced weak economic growth over the past year due to the “zero Covid” policy to prevent the spread of the new Corona virus. Meanwhile, Beijing has revitalized the economy. Allowing Ma to return to the playing field could be Beijing’s recognition that it needs private companies to drive growth.
This was echoed by Senior Lecturer in Chinese Business at King’s College London, Chen Sun, who said, “On track economic growth is perhaps the biggest political priority the party faces.” [الشيوعي] Right now, the most optimistic category of entrepreneurs is key.”
Sun expects a “deal of sorts” between the billionaire founder of “Alibaba” and the government to return to him and appear publicly.
“By doing this, the government intends to signal its welcome to the private sector and investors — if Jack Ma is deemed to have been pardoned, everyone else should feel safe and welcome,” Sun said.
There are also other signs that Beijing is easing some of its regulatory clampdown on the sector. The organizers were licensing foreign games to be released in China. And Chinese passenger service company Didi, which faced a cybersecurity probe from regulators and was forced to delist from the New York Stock Exchange, also indicated it was looking to expand its business.
