On Feb. 17, Chinese leader Xi Jinping convened a long-anticipated symposium on private enterprises at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing — the first such gathering in about six years.
Among the notable attendees was Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, whose absence from the public sphere since 2020 had come to symbolize the uncertain status of China’s once-celebrated tech entrepreneurs — until his return at the high-level official gathering.
But Ma’s reappearance wasn’t merely a conciliatory gesture. It marked a broader strategic recalibration. Beijing is now looking to reinvigorate private-sector innovation, global competitiveness and digital infrastructure as part of national policy — treating these not as independent forces, but as levers of state power.
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