Xi Kicks Out China's U.S. Experts As He Seeks Total Control Of Policy

Chinese President Xi Jinping is giving the cold shoulder to some of China's best-connected figures for relations with the US ahead of a Communist Party congress next fall during which he is expected to seek a third leadership term, Tsukasa Hadano reported for Nikkei Asia.

Photo Insert: Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan during an official diplomatic trip

After taking over as the party's general secretary in 2012, Xi had treated the advisory board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, his alma mater, with particular respect.

The group -- whose members include Alibaba Group Holding's Jack Ma, Foxconn founder Terry Gou and former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson -- had been viewed as a key back channel between the two economies.

Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein was among those who attended a meeting between board members and Xi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in October 2013, according to the university.

The political winds also appear to have shifted for Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, a former banker and anti-corruption chief once seen as Xi's right-hand man. Wang has US connections through his influence in China's finance world.

Xi's connections with the university came into focus with then-US President Donald Trump's November 2017 trip to China. Just days before, Xi invited Tsinghua advisory board members to the Great Hall of the People, where he stressed the importance of a "mutually beneficial" relationship in front of US business leaders such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Trump's insistence on reducing the U.S. trade deficit with China had raised alarm about the risk of a head-on clash during his visit. But a reported $250 billion in deals between American and Chinese companies came out of the trip, fueling speculation that the Tsinghua board had served as a buffer.

Over the past year, however, board members have run afoul of Chinese authorities, perhaps none more prominently than Alibaba founder Jack Ma. Alibaba-affiliated financial company Ant Group, which is in effect controlled by Ma, was forced last November to shelve a planned mega-IPO in Shanghai.

Ma was grilled by financial regulators and all but disappeared from the public eye for months. In April, news emerged that a close aide to another advisory board member, Chen Yuan, was being investigated on corruption allegations.

Chen had chaired the China Development Bank, which is directly overseen by the State Council. He is said by some to have been among Ma's backers and reportedly owned stock in Alibaba, which listed in New York in 2014.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic