Xi Woos China’s Skeptical Tycoons. But Where’s Jack Ma?

The government is having trouble following through on pledges. No wonder businesses are suspicious of the latest charm offensive. 

In recent weeks, the Chinese government has been trying hard to woo the private sector. Beijing wrapped up a multi-year crackdown on tech firms. Top officials showered business leaders with attention. In a highly unusual move, the Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council issued a joint pledge to treat private companies the same as state-owned enterprises.

President Xi Jinping has no choice but to roll out the red carpet. This year, he has been relying on the public sector to do all the heavy lifting to fire up growth. But accounting for only 20% of urban employment, state-owned enterprises are not big enough to wrestle the economy from a double-dip downturn that is marked by soaring youth unemployment, penny-pinching consumers and weak fixed-asset investments.