The battle between big tech in China and the Communist Party | In Focus
In this episode, we are looking at the battle unfolding in China\xa0between its big tech companies and Communist Party regulators in the\xa0wake of the latest tussle in this on-going tug-of-war. On June 30, the\xa0ride-hailing app Didi, which dominates the China market, raised $4.4\xa0billion in its much-anticipated listing on the New York Stock\xa0Exchange, the biggest Chinese listing since Alibaba. Days later, its\xa0value would crash with regulators announcing an investigation and\xa0taking the extraordinary step of banning Didi from registering users\nand removing its app from app stores. The Didi episode follows\xa0November's shock suspension of an IPO by Alipay, the financial\xa0payments arm of Alibaba. What is driving the tensions between the\xa0Party and Big Tech? Where is China's tech sector headed? What do the\xa0moves mean for the global ambitions of China's Internet giants?\n\nGuest: Santosh Pai, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi\n\nHost: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu