Jack Ma, the most prominent capitalist of China, is a member of the Communist Party

Jack Ma, China's richest man and the spearhead of his largest online trading company, belongs to an elite club of power experts, with 89 million members: the Chinese Communist Party.

The party's official newspaper, the Daily, includes Ma, the country's most prominent Alibaba group and capitalist leader, on a list released Monday by 100 Chinese citizens who have made an extraordinary contribution to the country's development over the past 40 years. years. Ma's entry identified him as a party member.

It may seem contradictory that the rich Ma belongs to an organization that has begun to demand the empowerment of the proletariat. But Ma's political affiliation was not a surprise to many Chinese and Chinese observers. While publicly preaching Karl Marx's principles, the Chinese Communist Party largely abandoned the post-Mao collectivist doctrine, releasing private entrepreneurs to help them build the world's second largest economy after the states. -United.

In fact, the revelation reveals a party eager to prove its legitimacy by affiliation to capitalist achievements. Ma is a rock tech star in China, and her membership in the party could push others to follow her example.

"Even Jack Ma is a party member," said Kellee Tsai, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, referring to the party's speech. "Does not that make you want to join the party too?"

Alibaba refused to comment on the case. The Hurun Report, a Shanghai-based research organization that tracks wealthy people in China, estimates the net worth of Ma and her family at 270 billion renminbi, or $ 39 billion.

Today's party is not really exclusive. Its members represent nearly 7% of the Chinese population. His ranks include government officials, businessmen and even dissidents. Being a member often suggests the desire to network and move forward rather than expressing one's political views.

For businessmen, membership is more often than not an issue of opportunity. Party membership provides a layer of protection in a country where the protection of private property is often applied at random or completely ignored.

Although its constitution still describes its members as "vanguard fighters of the Chinese working class imbued with communist consciousness", the party has moved away from its communist roots and has welcomed private entrepreneurs since 2001. Some of China's richest men are party members, including Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda Group, a conglomerate of real estate and entertainment, and Xu Jiayin of Evergrande Group, a real estate developer.

It is not known when Ma joined the party or how much he paid in dues. The party sets dues at 2% of the monthly salary of high-income members.

The star power of the Chinese entrepreneur class has faded since Xi Jinping became the country's top leader in 2012. Under Xi, the Communist Party plays a bigger role in Chinese politics, but also in the economy and everyday life. Any entity with more than three party members is required to set up a party cell. According to official data, about three quarters of private companies, 1.9 million people, have done so in 2017.

The companies claim that they have to deal with a lot more pressure than in the past to install the cells. Even some of Beijing's cool tech-savvy startups have spaces for party building.

Ma's disclosure reflects the thought that the party controls the economy and society, said Guo Yuhua, a professor of sociology at Tsinghua University in Beijing and a party critic.

"It goes back to the days of Deng Xiaoping, when the party advocated the separation of the party and the government," she said, referring to the leader of the party that eventually ruled China in its first few years. years of reform in the years 1970-1980.

The disclosure also attracted attention because Ma had previously tried to keep his distance from the government. When asked during his public appearances how he managed relations with the government, he often replied: "fall in love with the government, but do not get married."

But as Xi tightens ideological controls and the power of the state grows, many successful entrepreneurs have been keen to be loyal to their party.

Ma visited Yan'an, the city often considered the cradle of the Chinese Communist Revolution in 2015, according to Chinese media. Pony Ma, who is the chief executive of Internet giant Tencent Holdings but is not a party member, nevertheless showed up in Yan'an this year as well, wearing a Red Army uniform. Yan'an is also where Xi spent most of his adolescence.

In recent weeks, in the face of signs of a slowing economy and the intensification of the trade war with the United States, Chinese leaders have adopted a more moderate tone towards private companies, favorable remarks and promising tax cuts.

Clarify that the MP for Jack Ma, the most successful businessman in China, could strengthen the legitimacy of the party.

"Especially," said Tsai of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, "the party is very open about the fact that it wants to survive".