Jack Ma, Chinas richest man confirmed Communist
News & Trends •
afp25 jack ma founder of chinese tech giant alibaba is among the worlds richest people but he has now emerged as a member of another club chinas 89-million-strong communist party1 he is not the first nor likely the last chinese super-rich capitalist to join the party which counts property titan xu jiayin and wanda group founder wang jianlin among its billionaire members1 but mas membership had not been known until now as chinas richest man had previously suggested that he preferred to stay out of politics1 in mondays article the peoples daily said ma was a party member who has played an important role in pushing chinas belt and road global trade infrastructure initiative a pet project of president xi jinping1 he has also been honoured as one of the outstanding builders of socialism with chinese characteristics in zhejiang province where alibaba is based the daily said1 joining the party can be helpful to private businessmen and women in the country as they navigate a complicated business environment where the state-led economy dominates many industries and private business can be unwelcome1 xi has renewed a push to expand the communist partys influence in private business requiring any company with more than three party members to set up a party cell or lacking numbers join with nearby firms1 three in four private companies already host party organisations1 the billionaires communist bona fides were revealed by the peoples daily the partys official mouthpiece in an article praising contributors to chinas development1 xi is pushing to further intertwine the party and business with the latest rewrite to the rules for party organisations published sunday by official news agency xinhua1 in private companies party cells should guide and supervise the enterprise to strictly abide by national laws and regulations the draft order says according to xinhua1 ma did not reveal his communist party membership in paperwork filed for alibabas 2014 initial public offering on the new york stock exchange. it is not known if ma was a member at the time1 a spokeswoman for alibaba declined to comment1 ma who announced in september that he would step down as head of alibaba next year has previously indicated he preferred to keep the chinese state at arms length1 my philosophy is to be in love with the government but never marry them he said at the world economic forum in davos in 20071 but party members must hold up their right fist and recite an oath upon joining1 be loyal to the party work actively fight for communism all ones life always be prepared to sacrifice everything for the party and people and never betray the party they recite1 we must do a good job in the education and management of party members and guide them to play an active role xi told officials in shanghai earlier this month noting the increase in private employment and new types of employment1