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Didi Chuxing
TechBig Tech

China’s tech regulator meets top bosses from Didi, Baidu, Tencent, Xiaomi, NetEase as Beijing eases crackdown

  • The deputy head of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology meets Big Tech executives at an event hosted by the Internet Society of China
  • Didi founder and CEO Cheng Wei made his first appearance at the annual event since China launched a cybersecurity probe into the firm in 2021

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The Didi Chuxing headquarters in Beijing. The ride-hailing giant’s CEO Cheng Wei attended a symposium with China’s tech regulators along with top executives from other Big Tech firms. Photo: Bloomberg
Coco Fengin Beijing

Top executives from China’s largest internet companies met officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), one of the nation’s major technology industry regulators, to discuss ways to push forward the “high-quality development of the internet sector”.

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The symposium, held on Friday in Beijing, was attended by MIIT deputy head Zhang Yunming, Tencent Holdings founder and CEO Pony Ma Huateng, Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li Yanhong, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun, and NetEase founder and CEO William Ding Lei, according to a statement released on Saturday by the government-backed Internet Society of China, the event host.

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Why China is tightening control over cybersecurity

Why China is tightening control over cybersecurity
Cheng Wei, founder and CEO of ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, was also present at the round table – his first appearance at the annual event since a government task force initiated a cybersecurity investigation into the company in July 2021, just two days after its blockbuster initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
Didi last month resumed new user registrations in China with the consent of government authorities, nearly 18 months after regulators ordered a halt to customer enrolment and six months after the conclusion of the cybersecurity probe, which resulted in a US$1.2 billion fine against the firm.

During the meeting on Friday, participants agreed that accelerating the growth of the digital economy, and further integrating it with the “real economy” – goals that were set out by the Communist Party’s top leadership during the 20th national congress in October – will be the fundamental principles guiding the development of the internet sector, the MIIT said.

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The internet industry should help enhance the country’s digital infrastructure such as 5G networks, Gigabit Ethernet, and data centres; strengthen innovation in core technologies like 6G, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing; and improve the relevant regulatory framework, the meeting concluded.

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