(Bloomberg) — China has invited prominent entrepreneurs including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma to meet the nation’s top leaders, people familiar with the matter said, a potentially momentous show of support for the private sector after years of turmoil.
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The meeting may happen as soon as next week and include DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng, the people said. While further details are sparse, the people said President Xi Jinping is expected to attend. Alibaba shares gained as much as 5.7% in Hong Kong.
The Chinese leader’s schedule is closely guarded and often remains unclear until the last minute. But a meeting involving Xi and Ma has the potential to send a powerful signal that China’s Communist Party is adopting a more supportive stance toward private-sector companies that fuel most of the country’s economic growth.
The outspoken entrepreneur became one of the most high-profile casualties of Xi’s crackdown on the private sector in 2020, when authorities shocked the world by scuttling the blockbuster initial public offering of Alibaba affiliate Ant Group Co. Ma largely disappeared from public view as the Ant episode kicked off a yearslong campaign to tighten state control over the world’s second-largest economy, rein in the nation’s billionaire class and shift resources toward Xi priorities including national security and technological self-sufficiency.
The State Council Information Office didn’t respond to a fax seeking comment on the meeting, first reported by Reuters. Deepseek and Alibaba representatives also didn’t respond.
Authorities have taken a less combative approach more recently as China’s economy slowed and companies like Alibaba aligned themselves with Xi’s push for leadership in areas like artificial intelligence.
Liang, whose low-cost chatbot has vaulted China near the top of the race for AI supremacy, attended a closed-door business symposium hosted by Chinese Premier Li Qiang last month. Ma, who has gradually become more visible in recent years, gave a speech on topics including AI to Ant employees in December.
Optimism over AI’s potential has sparked a blistering rally in China’s stock market over the past month, turning the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index into the world’s best-performer. Speculation on social media about a potential meeting between Chinese authorities and companies including Alibaba has added to the positive sentiment in recent days, driving shares of the tech giant to their highest level since July 2022.
