Tesla’s Elon Musk, Ant Group CEO write for magazine of China’s top internet watchdog
- The articles appeared in the latest issue of China Wangxin, the official magazine of the Cyberspace Administration of China
- Tesla makes roughly 25 per cent of its revenue in China, while Ant has been undergoing a state-guided restructuring process
The official magazine of China’s internet watchdog has published articles penned by Ant Group CEO Eric Jing Xiandong and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, advocating the use of technology to improve the world.
Musk, whose article was titled “Believe in technology, create a better future”, is the first foreigner to write for China Wangxin, a magazine launched this year by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
The publication, which recently released its fourth issue, typically invites government officials, professors and executives from state-owned enterprises to contribute articles.
Ant is the financial technology affiliate of Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post.
China Wangxin, which offers hard copies only to paid subscribers, regularly posts the magazine’s print content online.
On Friday, it uploaded Jing’s article, which said Ant has “provided digital tools for small and micro businesses that are useful and inexpensive”. It also said the fintech giant contributed to carbon neutrality by planting more than 326 million trees in ecologically vulnerable areas.
Ant will “better serve the overall economic and social development of the nation, and contribute to its inclusive and sustainable digital development”, Jing wrote.
Since then, Ant has been undergoing a state-guided restructuring process to correct “improper competitive behaviours” associated with Alipay, the company’s flagship digital payment service. The firm has also been told to end “inappropriate” ties between Alipay and the company’s consumer-lending operations.
But as China’s economy weakens under repeated Covid-19 lockdowns, Beijing has begun to adopt a more positive tone on the tech industry.
Officials at a Politburo meeting in April this year voiced support for measures assisting the “healthy development” of the platform economy.
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China Wangxin has yet to publish Musk’s article online.
In recent years, the American entrepreneur has on several occasions offered effusive praise of China, which accounts for roughly 25 per cent of Tesla’s global revenues.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
