Alibaba shares plummet 11% alongside China tech stocks as Xi tightens grip on power

Chinese technology stocks tanked Monday after a political reshuffle in the world’s second-largest economy tightened President Xi Jinping’s grip on power with investors fearing this could be a negative for private firms. Tech giants Alibaba closed down more than 11% in Asia. The moves come after Xi paved the way for an unprecedented third term as leader and packed the Politburo standing committee, the core circle of power in the ruling Communist Party of China, with loyalists. That makes it unlikely that anyone would challenge any “policy mistakes” that Xi makes which could hamper growth of the tech sector, Xin Sun, senior lecturer in Chinese and East Asian business at King’s College London, said.