Chinese tech tycoons’ retreat spurs speculation about true motives amid controversies and Big Tech crackdown

JD.com’s Richard Liu recently joined the founders of ByteDance and Pinduoduo in stepping aside from day-to-day management

Some analysts say the entrepreneurs may really want to pursue other interests, but a government crackdown and controversies cloud the tech industry

3-MIN READ3-MIN

JD.com CEO Richard Liu poses after signing an agreement during a meeting between French leaders and business leaders in Beijing on January 9, 2018. Liu has become the latest tech tycoon to step away from day-to-day management of his business empire amid Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on the sector. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:30pm, 8 Sep 2021Updated: 5:17pm, 11 Oct 2021

As the biggest names in China’s technology sector continue to retreat from the front lines of running their companies, speculation remains about their true motives and how much power they are really relinquishing.

This week, JD.com founder Richard Liu Qiangdong became the latest tech tycoon to give up day-to-day management responsibilities at his company, following 38-year-old Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, and 41-year-old Pinduoduo founder Colin Huang Zheng, who made similar announcements earlier this year.

Each of these founders are part of a new generation of Chinese billionaires who built their fortunes during the rise of the country’s internet economy over the past two decades.

Unlike their counterparts in the West, however, the entrepreneurs are retreating from leadership roles while still relatively young, as Beijing has carried out a prolonged crackdown on the tech sector this year in a push to align business with national interests, and called on the wealthy to contribute to the country’s “common prosperity”.