Alibaba

Alibaba is an example of how China uses a market system under the control of a communist government. Jack Ma was an English teacher in China and in 1999 with 25 million dollars from an American investor started his company Alibaba which was to be the Chinese equivalent of Amazon. His company grew and Jack became a billionaire. He started to accuse the government of undermining his business. In September of 2019 he stepped down as chief officer amid rumors that the Government was forcing him out. When he started he was like a folk hero but as the government run press started to bad mouth him things changed. But lately, public sentiment has soured and Daddy Ma has become the man people in China love to hate. He has been called a “villain,” an “evil capitalist” and a “bloodsucking ghost.” Bo Zhuang, chief China economist at TS Lombard said that the suspension "forms part of a wider political drive as the leadership seeks to widen and consolidate its control over finance and technology".What followed was an unexpected Chinese government-released draft on 10 November 2020, which gives regulatory authorities a wider latitude to regulate their biggest tech enterprises. Using the powers of government the company is being forced to give up its independence. This is like the communist governments in the past where they nationalized all business. Notice that the name calling of Ma is now what is going on against Jeff Bezos of Amazon and there are threats of a breakup of the company and a wealth tax against Bezos.