In the competition for technology in the United States, China’s XI rarely meets business leaders

Story: President Xi Jinping held a rare meeting with some prominent figures in China’s tech field on Monday (February 17) – Beijing has made a shift in its tech giant’s approach after regulators restricted four years ago.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma and Deepseek’s Liang Wenfeng were all in the carefully arranged event.

Analysts say this is support for LUX private companies.

The first image from Chinese state media shows Xi Jinping talking to executives lined up in front of him.

Investors compete to see who is in and out of top business leaders.

Images show Huawei and electric vehicle giant Biante sitting directly in front of XI.

Leaders of Chinese giants including Xiaomi, Metuan and Tencent also attended the meeting.

After no top executives were found, Baidu shares fell more than 8%.

The founder and the Barbarians of Baidu were among those who did not participate, two sources said.

Jack Ma’s attendance is worth noting.

The once high-profile entrepreneur largely withdrew from public life after the IPO of his fintech company Ant was stopped by authorities five years ago.

The move was triggered by his speech criticizing China’s regulatory system the same year.

Xinhua News Agency officials said that Xi Jinping delivered a speech after listening to senior executives, but did not provide details of his speech.

Analysts said Xi Jinping’s move to convene business leaders underscores the new importance of private sector innovation, giving China a foundation in technology.

U.S. tariffs have recently threatened greater pressure on the world’s second-largest economy.

The country struggles with weak domestic consumption and a debt crisis in the real estate sector.

Officials without a company immediately responded to a request for comment.