Alibaba has paid academics to lobby Chinese authorities to relax regulations and rehabilitate its reputation as the e-commerce group tries to navigate Beijing’s crackdown on technology.
Chinese scholars involved in Alibaba’s lobbying operations have published essays and submitted reports in support of the company to authorities in Beijing, including the State Administration for Market Regulation, which has hit the group with record fines for antitrust abuses in 2021.
Alibaba provides money, data, information and interview opportunities for scholars to improve their research, according to more than 10 academics, government officials and company employees who spoke to the Financial Times. The company also pledged to fund several undergraduate research projects.
“Alibaba’s lobbying muscle is the highest among internet giants,” said a Beijing-based scholar, speaking on condition of anonymity. “When [they] come to my door. . . I could hardly say no.
The group’s academic push comes as the company tries to recover from a regulatory crackdown that has wiped billions from its market value, with its share price down more than 60 percent since its peak in October 2020.
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The effort reveals how tech groups in China are stepping up efforts to counter Beijing’s crackdown on the tech sector. This month Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba, relinquished control of his fintech affiliate Ant Group, clearing the way for an IPO blocked by Beijing three years ago.
Academics in China can act as intermediaries between the private sector and the government, helping to shape policies and positions through drafting public papers or submitting reports, usually unpublished, to high party officials in the Communist party.
Alibaba’s team is working with scholars to produce a report with good commentary on business and social contributions, a person familiar with the campaign told the FT. The Hangzhou-based group, like other Chinese tech companies, has also hired former government officials to liaise with policymakers on its behalf.
“Regulators’ knowledge of internet companies has not kept up with their development, so they are urging academics to accelerate the learning curve,” said a Beijing-based researcher paid by Alibaba who makes internal policy proposals for authorities. Scholars exert “a lot of influence” on government decision-making, he said.
Four reports, obtained by the FT and whose authors say they take money from Alibaba, suggest relaxed regulation of the company. The essay was published in a Chinese academic journal and was also submitted in some form to government officials with the aim of influencing policy, according to the authors.
Other reports from academics highlight how Alibaba’s technology and operational capabilities are helping to grow small businesses and e-commerce-related industries, with the goal of restoring the company’s damaged profile after an antitrust investigation.
Alibaba is “creating new growth and innovation for the digital economy” during the pandemic, said one of the reports sent to SAMR. The report concludes with the suggestion that regulators “need to stimulate companies like Alibaba to stimulate the economy”.
Another report stated that Alibaba made “poverty eradication a core strategy of the company”, helping to develop and expand businesses and industries in rural areas.
Other articles review the antitrust investigation process against Alibaba, arguing that the company has many competitive rivals and therefore the regulator should not take more action against the company.
“I was persuaded by Alibaba’s employees and the information they provided,” said one academic who serves as an adviser to the government.
“[The reports I submitted suggested that] The current regulations and controls are very strict, after considering the social impact and real harm from Alibaba’s behavior,” added the government advisor.
After briefing the FT on its findings, Alibaba said its response to the story was “based on a misleading premise and [the] The FT is just giving us useless information that points to inappropriate allegations.
Angela Zhang, an antitrust expert and professor at the University of Hong Kong, said that all of China’s tech giants use Chinese academics to enforce their legislative and enforcement processes.
“Internet companies lobbied aggressively against the initial draft [of policies] and recruiting support from academics by funding scholarly projects and conferences,” Zhang wrote in an essay published in a US journal in 2021 and revised last year.
“Being able to influence government officials is important,” said Zeren Li, researching state-business relations and postdoctoral associate at Yale University. Li said that in China’s academic system, seeking an endorsement from a high-ranking official is like publishing in a top journal.
“Now is the best time for Alibaba to mend relations with regulators because Beijing is mobilizing all its forces to energize China’s economy,” said an official with ties to the technology group.
Big Tech companies in the US, such as Meta and Google, have also funded academic work, think-tank research and journalistic projects in an effort to burnish their public image.
There are signs that Beijing may be relaxing on Alibaba. Chief executive Daniel Zhang appeared in a state media broadcast last weekend, saying that the company’s growth targets were “aligned and consistent with” China’s national social development goals.
Yi Lianhong, the party secretary in Alibaba’s home province of Zhejiang, visited the company’s headquarters last month – his first call in two years – after a conference in Beijing on revitalizing the platform economy.