Kane Wu and Julie Zhu

HONG KONG, (Reuters) – This was Jack Ma’s best hour. One year ago, the Ant Group was to become public with a staggering $37 billion. Beijing instead strained his reach and abruptly cut off the wings of China’s largest star.

The billionaire has now become a cautious cheerleader for investors. Alibaba (NYSE:) e-commerce tycoon is taking his first tentative steps back on to the global stage with a low-key trip to Europe where he’s cultivating https://www.reuters.com/business/billionaire-alibaba-founder-jack-ma-touring-dutch-research-institutes-scmp-2021-10-27 hobbies like horticulture.

This is a vast improvement on the 2017 peak of Ma’s statemanlike power, when he traveled to New York to speak with President-elect Donald Trump in Trump Tower. He promised to create one million American jobs and that he would.

That high-profile outing had roiled the Chinese government, which first learned of the meeting and jobs pledge along with the rest of the world when Ma held an informal televised Q&A session with reporters in the lobby of the skyscraper, according to four people close to Alibaba with knowledge of the matter and one Beijing government source.

Chinese officials told Alibaba’s government affairs team that Beijing didn’t approve of Ma meeting Trump. Two people close to Alibaba said this.

Ma’s charity foundation that handles media inquiries did not respond when he requested comment.

Requests for comments were not received from the State Council Information Office or Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Due to the sensitive nature of the issue, all sources were not able to provide names.

This meeting took place on January 9, amid tensions between both countries. Trump had previously criticized China in his election campaign and blamed it for American jobs being lost.

Trump’s spokesperson did not respond when asked.

Alibaba’s four closest friends said that they felt the meeting marked a turning point for Ma and Beijing. The four people close to Alibaba did not reveal their thoughts.

Investors seek out clues to Ma’s position: Alibaba gained as high as $42 Billion in just a single sighting on Mallorca in Spain last month. This was the first time he had been abroad for over a year.

His fall from public favour is a great example of how China has changed under Xi Jinping. He’s close to a record-breaking third term and has greater influence over many of China’s most innovative businesses. 

“A NATURAL FIRST TTARGET”

Ma was accused of accusing financial regulators of suppressing innovation in a speech he delivered in Shanghai last October. Regulators suspended https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ant-group-ipo-idUSKBN27J1OS the $37 billion listing of his fintech firm Ant Group two days before the planned debut on Nov. 5, ordered that Ant be restructured and launched antitrust investigations into Ma’s businesses, eventually leading to a record $2.75 billion fine https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/china-regulators-fine-alibaba-275-bln-anti-monopoly-violations-2021-04-10 for Alibaba in April.

Officials have tightened oversight over technology, finance, real estate and education companies to prevent them from falling prey to the government’s clampdown.

“As Jack was too provocative, not in step with the new governance approach espoused Xi,” Duncan Clark (chairman of Beijing-based BDA China) said. He is also author of a book on Alibaba.

Jack was regularly rubbing shoulders with foreign heads, prime ministers, and royalty while he visited places such as Davos. He was also visited by a steady stream of VIPs in Hangzhou.

Ma’s worldwide outreach didn’t end with the Trump meeting.

Between 2018 and 2020 he held talks with a host of high-profile figures, including U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, Queen Rania of Jordan, Malaysia’s veteran politician Mahathir Mohamad and then Belgian premier Charles Michel, according to Alibaba’s news portal Alizila and media reports.

According to an insider close to Ma, Alibaba’s Hangzhou headquarters has a museum building that Ma and Joe Tsai used to take tourists from abroad.

Tsai didn’t respond to an inquiry via Alibaba for comments.

Ma had always regarded meetings with foreign officials as “unofficial diplomatic diplomacy” to China. This he liked doing, said the person.

Alibaba told Reuters it had a guest reception facility widely known as Pavilion 9 that offered a visual tour of its history and an overview of its businesses. According to it, the hall has been home to a variety of visitors.

Other questions regarding this story were not answered by the company.

“JUST LIKE YOU and ME”

Ma, one of China’s most influential and successful businessmen, requested an audience at least with two members of Xi’s inner circle. But, these requests were denied by both of them, two different sources said. 

According to a government source, the billionaire wrote to Xi in April offering his support for rural education in China.

Reuters couldn’t determine whether Xi agreed to or replied to the offer. This has never been reported before. Reuters also didn’t know when Ma wrote the missive, a former English teacher.

South China Morning Post owned by Alibaba said that Ma was in Europe for an “agriculture-technology study tour related to environment issues” last month. This is according to a source familiar with the itinerary.

The paper published photos of Ma in a protective white gown holding flowerspots last week. The paper stated that Ma will continue to visit European companies and research centers involved in plant breeding and agricultural infrastructure, and cited people who were familiar with his plans.

Tsai was the Alibaba co-founder. He sounded down on his associate in an interview with CNBC’s SquawkBox show.

“He is lying low at the moment. Tsai explained that she talks with him almost every day. He said, “I don’t believe Jack is a man of immense power.”

He is like us, just like me.