There's no doubt that China's economy is on a blistering pace-- factories are humming, foreign invested is flowing in, and international companies (bending the knee to government-fueled nationalism) are readily adapting their products and business practices to cater to the whims of local indignation over international reaction to the government's human rights abuses. Despite such a bullish outlook, wealthy and powerful people atop some of the country's most prominent companies are heading for the exits.
After Xi Jinping took office as China's top leader in 2013, the authorities began going after business people and intellectuals with big online followings-- as they were seen as the likeliest challengers to the central government's power and influence over the nation. The police that year arrested Wang Gongquan, a prominent supporter of human rights causes, on charges of "disrupting public order."
Gongqua is a close friend of Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, the husband-and-wife team that runs Soho China, a leading property developer and the latest to start pulling up stakes across their homeland. Pan and Zhang, recently struck a deal to sell a controlling stake in the investment giant Blackstone for around $3 billion, giving up up control over the company as even more high-profile entrepreneurs come under public and official scrutiny in China like never before.
China's most famous tycoon, the Alibaba found Jack Ma, has kept an uncharacteristically low profile since late last year, when the government began a regulatory crackdown on his companies and the wider internet industry. Colin Huang, found of Alibaba rival Pinduoduo, resigned as chairman in March, less than a year after he stepped down as CEO. In May, Zhang Timing, found of TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, announced he was handing over the CEO post to focus on long-term strategy.
Pan and Zhang of Soho China have been avoiding the spotlight more than they ever did during an earlier, freer era of China's economic revival. As their real estate project began dominating the skylines of Beijing and Shanghai, the duo became the "it" couple in business and society circles. Top entrepreneurs, government officials and intellectuals attended their parties. Pan was also one of the first Chinese business leaders to recognize the power of the internet, writing a popular blog in the 2000's and then becoming an influential voice on the Twitter-like social media platform Weibo.
But soon after Xi Jinping took office, Pan Zhang began selling off property holdings in China and spending more time in the U.S. Zhang and her family were part of consortium to buy a 40% stake in the General Motors building in New York City. Chinese news outlets began questioning why Soho China was letting go of billions of dollars of assets in China. Media reports soon began accusing Soho China of "fleeing" Shanghai by selling projects there.
Last year, Ren Zhiqiang, a retired property mogul and friend of Pan's was detained for an essay he shared with friends on a private chat group. The essay criticized Xi's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Ren was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Pan and Zhang's social media accounts are filled with bland, friendly material-- book recommendations and photos of flowers. Both of their accounts are set to display only the past six month's posts. After Soho China announced the blockbuster sale of Blackstone on its Weibo account, Pan reposted the announcement on his personal account without comment-- in what many online commentators have called a "silent farewell."
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