Alibaba's Jack Ma is a Communist Party member, China state paper reveals

 

FILE PHOTO: Alibaba Group co-founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma attends the World Trade Organization (WTO) Forum "Trade 2030" in Geneva, Switzerland, October 2, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

 

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Jack Ma, the head of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and China's best-known capitalist, is a Communist Party member, the official Party newspaper said on Monday, debunking a public assumption the billionaire was politically unattached.

 

The People's Daily revealed Ma's Party membership in a list of 100 people it said had helped drive the country "reform and opening up" process. Ma is China's richest man with a fortune of $35.8 billion, according to Forbes.

 

It was unclear why the paper chose to mention Ma's affiliation now but it comes amid a push by Beijing to bring the country's private enterprises more in line with Party values, especially in the technology sector that has grown rapidly, driven by the successes of private firms.

 

Ma, who announced in September he would step down as Alibaba chairman next year, is China's highest-profile business leader. He has acted as an adviser to political leaders in Asia and Europe and fostered big ambitions in the United States.

 

He has driven Alibaba to become a $390 billion giant, which dominates China's online retail market, stretches from logistics to social media, and has spawned a separate fintech empire around popular payment platform Alipay.

 

Ma's political affiliation came as a surprise to many.

 

Results from domestic search engine Baidu Inc, when asked "is Jack Ma a Communist Party member", also mostly said that he was not.

 

Alibaba declined to comment on Ma's Party membership, but said political ties did not impact the firm's operations.

 

"Political affiliation of any executive does not influence the company's business decision-making process," a spokesperson said in emailed comments to Reuters on Tuesday.

 

"We follow all laws and regulations in countries where we operate as we fulfil our mission of making it easier for people to do business anywhere in the digital era."

 

The People's Daily list also included Baidu head Robin Li and Tencent Holding Ltd chief Pony Ma, though did not name either of them as Party members. Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent together make up the "BAT" trio of China's top tech firms.

 

The paper did not say when Ma had become a Party member.

 

(Reporting by Adam Jourdan and John Ruwitch; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Himani Sarkar)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-27

Comrade Ma.

why such a surprise.... if he was not part of the communist party he could never hold so much money and power, in China to be able to have a successful business one has to have "PARTY" card and contacts..... otherwise big chance to end up in jail

I have it on good authority that the 40 thieves are also communist party members.

I lived in Shanghai for several years. It's common for the highly educated to become party members while in college. It's their recruiting ground.

The only way ahead. 

...and this is news..conveyed to you by that most indispensable organ of true knowledge-the internet -without which the human race would be actually reduced to doing some thinking by themselves.

Edited November 27, 20187 yr by Odysseus123

Not quite the Communist Party of old.  Capitalistic Communists. You can't make this stuff up!

21 minutes ago, connda said:

Not quite the Communist Party of old.  Capitalistic Communists. You can't make this stuff up!

Yep-meanwhile the  'capitalists' on t'other side of the pond are screaming for protectionism and biased trade treaties.

It's a mad,mad world..

23 minutes ago, connda said:

Not quite the Communist Party of old.  Capitalistic Communists. You can't make this stuff up!

Progressive communism, politically China is very much Leninist, but has embraced capitalism

 

Its something maybe the west could learn from... Socialist democracy ?...

1 hour ago, car720 said:

although these days it is the 40 million thieves. 

You forgot a zero 

The party called " communist " has become a huge joke.

Off topic removed

Was there ever any doubt.