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A quieter World Internet Conference this year kept Big Tech executives away amid shift away from consumer technology
- The three-day political event put more focus on business-to-business technology this year amid a slowing economy and weak consumer sentiment
- Once known for attracting big international names, Covid-19 controls kept overseas visitors away while China’s biggest tech founders were also absent
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Tracy Quin Wuzhen
As the World Internet Conference (WIC) prepares to wrap up on Friday, a new trend has emerged for China’s premiere political technology event that puts more focus on business-to-business use cases as consumer sentiment remains weak in a slowing economy and Covid-19 controls keep high-profile foreign executives away.
While a few US-based executives made virtual appearances this year at a low point in relations between the two countries, many of the biggest names in China’s tech industry did not show up at all in Wuzhen, the city in eastern Zhejiang province where the event takes place each year.
Among those showing the most support, however, is Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post. Its chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang Yong gave two speeches on Wednesday, the opening day of the conference, when he pledged support for the integration of the digital and real economies. Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba, made an appearance the same day, when chairman Eric Jing spoke at an event about the company’s efforts overseas.
Senior officials from the province attended, as well, including Zhejiang Communist Party Secretary Yuan Jiajun.
The WIC, also known as the Wuzhen Summit, was once regarded as an occasion for business tycoons to show up and socialise at the historic resort where it is held. It was known for its nighttime dining along the local canals, where people dressed in their best attire hobnobbed with industry and political leaders.
Strict Covid-19 controls, which China has kept as the rest of the world has begun to open up, have prevented big international names from attending the event that once attracted Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s Sundar Pichai. A protracted tech industry crackdown from Beijing, which began in 2020 and eased up this year, also pushed many domestic tech leaders to stay out of the limelight when they once were a regular appearance at the conference.
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