Xi’s third term leaves the tech industry cold

EXECUTIVES at Chinese Internet companies who went into the 20th party congress hoping for some good news are left sorely disappointed. Xi Jinping secured a third term as the nation’s leader, as expected, and stacked his leadership ranks with loyalists, but did little to provide clarity on where the country’s technology sector is headed.

Of the seven members of the Politburo’s Standing Committee, none could be considered tech cheerleaders. Perhaps closest to the industry is Li Qiang, the Shanghai party chief who is ranked second behind Xi and is set to become premier. While he’s best known for leading harsh Covid-19 lockdowns in China’s commercial hub, Li also oversaw the establishment of the Star Market – a Nasdaq-like bourse – and the rapid construction of a Tesla Inc factory in the city. But his loyalty is to Xi, not the industry.

The same could be said for Wang Huning, ranked fourth, an influential thinker who wears his socialist ideology on his sleeve. He even penned a book in 1991 outlining the US’s core failures (democracy, individualism). More recently, he has been instrumental in building the Communist Party’s role and influence within universities, and tightening Internet governance. It is hard to imagine executives at China’s tech companies being too excited about his rising power.