Regulatory Pain for Alibaba, Tencent may Not Be Over

Global Times: CPC’s disciplinary agency renews anti-corruption drive, to fight new challenges of ‘capital-power collusion’

The Communist Party of China's (CPC) top disciplinary agency pledged to maintain a strong and persistent crackdown on corruption in a communiqué released Thursday, and the document also said the Party will actively handle "the new challenges and new situations" of the anti-corruption campaign, including strengthening investigations and punishment behind the "disorderly expansion of capital" and monopoly of some online platforms, vowing to cut off the collusion between capital and power.

The communiqué also stressed that the corruption behind "disorderly expansion of capital" and monopoly of some online platforms should be investigated and punished, and the ties between political power and capital should be cut off.

Zhu said this is a new challenge which emerged in the past 10 years, as the fast development of China's economy has brought huge changes in social media networks, IT industries and digital economy, and some capitalists have gained unprecedented influence as some of their products have become the key parts of public goods of the nation.

Without strict law-enforcement and legislation that keep up with the times, there will be vast space for corruption and misconduct, and the ambition of some capitalists will expand to gain political power and undermine the socialist nature of our country, said analysts.

"The capital is showing its intention to cross the line," said Wu Xinwen, a professor and expert on Chinese politics at Fudan University in Shanghai, noting that some capitalists are no longer satisfied with only having economic power, but intend to expanding their influence to public media and education to eventually gain political power, and without restrictions and management, the capital could overrun politics and society in China.

Although the lines are drawn differently, U.S. tech companies are also engaged in violation of political and economic norms, the latest being Google's abuse of its ad system.