The founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, the richest man in China, is a member of the Communist Party

Beijing: Jack Ma, founder of Chinese technology giant Alibaba, is one of the richest people in the world, but he has now become a member of another club: the Chinese Communist Party, made up of 89 million people. The true commonality of the billionaire was revealed by the People's Daily, the party's official spokesman, in an article praising those who have contributed to China's development.

He is neither the first nor the last super-rich Chinese capitalist to join the party, which counts among its billionaire members the titan of the property Xu Jiayin and the founder of the Wanda group, Wang Jianlin. But Ma's membership had not been widely known until now, as the richest man in China had already hinted that he preferred to stay out of the policy.

In his Monday article, the People's Daily said that Ma was a party member who played an important role in promoting China's Global Belt and Road Business Infrastructure Initiative. , a favorite project of President Xi Jinping. He has also been honored as one of the "outstanding builders of socialism with Chinese characteristics in Zhejiang Province", where Alibaba is based, the newspaper said.

– Join the party –

Joining the party can be helpful to the country's private businessmen and women who navigate in a complex commercial environment where the state-dominated economy dominates many industries and where private businesses can be unwelcome In China, business leaders need the support of the Communist Party to enrich themselves, but they also need it to survive.

It's a relationship that – when the political winds change – can silence them, say the experts. Membership in the party did not prevent the sharp fall of the oil tycoon, Ye Jianming, chairman of CEFC China Energy, who disappeared from view this spring and who would be the subject of the announcement. a survey in China.

Ma's commercial rivals, Tencent's CEO and chairman of the board, Pony Ma, and Robin Li, of Baidu, are not affiliated with any party, the People's Daily said. Xi renewed his efforts to increase the Communist Party's influence in private enterprises, forcing any company with more than three party members to create a party cell, or an insufficient number, to join neighboring companies.

Three out of four private companies already host holiday organizations. "We have to do a good job in the education and management of party members and guide them so that they play an active role," Xi told officials in Shanghai earlier this month, highlighting the increase in the number of private jobs and new types of jobs.

Xi is attempting to further mingle the party and business, with the latest rewrite of the rules for party organizations released Sunday by the Xinhua official news agency. In private companies, party cells should "guide and supervise the company so that it strictly complies with national laws and regulations," says the draft decision, according to Xinhua.

– & # 39; N & # 39; wife not-

Ma did not disclose her membership in the Communist Party in the documents relating to the IPO of Alibaba in 2014 on the New York Stock Exchange. It is not known if Ma was a member at the time. A spokeswoman for Alibaba declined to comment.

Alibaba bought the Hong Kong English language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, in 2015 and controversies have revolved around the editorial direction of its coverage since the purchase. Ma told the newspaper that he wanted to offer "a reasonable chance to readers" to understand China after its purchase by Alibaba.

Although known for its in-depth coverage of China, the paper has not yet published a story about joining the party of China's biggest capitalist Tuesday night. Ma, who announced in September that he would resign as president of Alibaba next year, has already indicated that he prefers to keep the Chinese state at bay.

"My philosophy is to be in love with the government, but never to marry them," he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2007. But party members must raise their right fist and recite a oath when they join us.

"Be faithful to the party, work actively, fight for communism all your life, always be ready to sacrifice everything for the party and the people, and never betray the party," they recite.