Jack Ma escapes Beijing’s crosshairs by giving up his power

Ma’s decisions now may be a way to align with President Xi Jinping’s vision of achieving ‘common prosperity’. — Reuters

Jack Ma is taking a weeks-long tour in Europe after largely disappearing from public view for almost two years, adding to signs that China’s government is easing pressure on the entrepreneur as he steps back from a business empire that had made him one of the country’s most powerful people.

The 57-year-old co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has popped up at restaurants in Austria, toured a university in the Netherlands to learn about sustainable agriculture and docked his yacht off the Spanish island of Mallorca, according to reporting by Bloomberg and local media.