Recently, Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma has been making consecutive public appearances. Just a few days ago, a netizen posted on Xiaohongshu claiming to have encountered Jack Ma at the Hema Fresh Thousand Oaks store in Changsha. Prior to this sighting, Jack Ma was seen at the Alibaba Hangzhou campus.
In photos captured by netizens, Jack Ma is seen dressed in a blue cotton jacket, black pants, wearing a white duckbill cap, and a black face mask, maintaining a low profile. The images show Jack Ma and his entourage seemingly inspecting the store, with staff members briefing him on the operation situation and visiting different booths.
Mainland Chinese media reports quoted sources close to Hema Fresh confirming the authenticity of the news. Furthermore, a photo surfaced on Weibo showing Jack Ma posing with Hema Fresh staff, with Jack Ma standing in the center with a smile, taking the spotlight.
On February 11, Jack Ma was seen at the Alibaba Hangzhou campus, wearing a black Alibaba cultural jacket, smiling throughout and waving to the staff while greeting them with a “Happy New Year.” According to reports, Jack Ma visited the Idle Fish building in Area A of Alibaba’s West Creek campus, followed by a visit to the office area of the Alibaba Intelligent Information Business Group.
After stepping down as the Chairman of the Alibaba Board in 2019, Jack Ma has maintained a low profile since 2020, rarely making public appearances. However, whenever he emerges publicly, it attracts significant public attention.
Jack Ma’s critical speech of the Chinese Communist Party’s regulatory system in 2020 was widely seen as the trigger for Beijing’s intensified scrutiny of Alibaba, ultimately leading to his withdrawal from public activities. In late 2021, he left mainland China, making appearances in Japan, Spain, Australia, and Thailand.
In May of 2023, Jack Ma convened a meeting with the business heads of the Taotian Group. Shortly after, Zhang Yong stepped down as Chairman of the Board and CEO, with Tsai Chongxin and Wu Yongming taking over.
On November 29 of last year, the South China Morning Post reported Jack Ma’s return to the Alibaba campus, marking his first return to his hometown since March 2023.
According to Alibaba employees, Jack Ma also visited the company’s campus in Hangzhou, the eastern provincial capital of Zhejiang Province, expressing his support for Alibaba. In a photo shared with the South China Morning Post by an employee who captured the moment on-site, Jack Ma is seen wearing a white hat, smiling, and casually waving to the employees.
Jack Ma’s discreet visit to the Alibaba campus comes at a time when the Chinese government is attempting to boost confidence in the private sector amidst various challenges such as the continued stagnation of the real estate market and a sluggish economic recovery.