China's Xi holds rare meet with business leaders amid US tech rivalry

BEIJING, Feb 17 (Reuters): President Xi Jinping held a rare meeting on Monday with some of the biggest names in China's technology sector, such as Alibaba founder Jack Ma, urging them to "show their talent" and be confident in the power of China's model and market.

The tightly choreographed pro-business rally, a turnaround in Beijing's approach to its tech giants from a regulatory clampdown four years ago, reflected policymakers' concern about a slowdown in growth and efforts by the United States to limit China's technological development, analysts said.

Xi's move to gather business leaders, including those behind breakout successes despite US pressure in recent months, underscores the importance of private-sector innovation for China to gain ground in technology, they said.

"It's a tacit acknowledgement that the Chinese government needs private-sector firms for its tech rivalry with the United States," said Christopher Beddor, deputy China research director at Gavekal Dragonomics in Hong Kong.

"The government has no choice but to support them if it wants to compete with the United States." The private sector in China, which competes with state-owned companies, contributes more than half of tax revenue.