Sawt Falasteen - Alibaba shares soar on reports of potential Xi meeting with Jack Ma

Alibaba, which has already surged more than 40 percent in 2025, piled on 6.3 percent after also being given an extra leg-up Thursday when its chairman said it would supply AI technology to power Apple's iPhones in China.

Since coming to power more than a decade ago, Xi has consistently sought to bolster the role of state enterprises in the world's second-largest economy and warned against the "disorderly" expansion of private business.

He oversaw a sweeping crackdown on the tech sector that in 2020 brought the shock cancellation of Alibaba affiliate Ant Group's blockbuster IPO -- notably after Ma made a speech criticising Chinese regulators.

Ma has kept a low public profile since then, but Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Xi was preparing to meet him alongside other eminent entrepreneurs.

The talks could take place as soon as next week and reportedly may include Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek, the insurgent tech firm whose AI chatbot has caused a global stir in recent weeks.

China's commerce ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed AFP request for comment.

Xi's prospective meeting with business luminaries would send a strong signal of support for the private sector at a time when China's economy is groaning under a protracted property crisis, persistently low consumption, and high local government debt.

It would also hint at the rehabilitation of Ma, a former English teacher who founded Alibaba in 1999 and built it into one of China's most recognisable and dominant private companies.

But in the years since the scuttled Ant IPO, the magnate once known for his electrifying public persona has eschewed the limelight, ostensibly to focus on philanthropy and rural education.

The stock rally adds to a promising week for Alibaba, whose chairman said Thursday that the company would supply artificial intelligence technology to power Apple's iPhones in China.

Joseph Tsai said at a summit in Dubai that regulatory issues meant Apple, which has lost its status as the smartphone market leader in China, "need to work with Chinese companies that develop AI".

E.Aziz--SF-PST