Alibaba Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Zhang Yong said Monday that the government’s anti-monopoly guidelines for online platforms are “very timely and necessary” and that Alibaba will actively learn from and respond to the country’s policies and regulations, as China’s Internet giants face increasing pressure from government regulation.
Zhang, who succeeded Jack Ma as Alibaba’s successor, made the comments in support of the authorities during a speech at the World Internet Conference – Internet Development Forum in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Nov. 23.
Alibaba has been cracked down on by the authorities this month, firstly, its $37 billion IPO plan of Ant Technology Group, which is mainly engaged in online lending, was halted urgently, and then the State Administration of Market Supervision issued the “Anti-monopoly Guidelines in the Field of Platform Economy (Draft for Public Comments)” on November 10. The definition of monopolistic behavior, such as selling, limiting or refusing to trade, is seen as a clear reference to Internet platform giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Meituan and Jingdong. The move triggered a two-day plunge in Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese e-commerce stocks.
Compared to Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s previous public speeches in which he attacked financial regulators and the banking industry, drawing heavy punches from the authorities, Zhang Yong’s speech was clearly more flexible and emphasized gratitude.
Zhang said that China’s digital economy is leading the world, thanks to government policies that encourage development and innovation, and thanks to the fact that China is the world’s largest market.
According to Zhang, “Regulation allows platform companies to not only develop well on their own, but also to serve the sustainable and healthy development of society as a whole and bring about more blossoming innovation. This is not only the requirement of the country, but also the requirement of every socially responsible enterprise”.
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