Former Chinese property exec who criticised Xi over virus handling is missing, friends say

FILE PHOTO: A screen shows a CCTV state media broadcast of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Wuhan at a shopping centre in Beijing as the country is hit by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, China, March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

BEIJING (Reuters) - An influential former Chinese property executive who called President Xi Jinping a "clown" over a speech he made last month about the government's efforts to battle the coronavirus has gone missing, three of his friends told Reuters.

Ren Zhiqiang, a member of China's ruling Communist Party and a former top executive of state-controlled property developer Huayuan Real Estate Group, has not been contactable since March 12, they said.