Communism is about eliminating capitalism. But in reality, it has no match for capitalism in the realms of economy, science, technology and culture. The reason is simple: no private or state-run enterprises can do without money. When a country is poor, where does it find the money to send rockets to space, make nuclear weapons, promote scientific research and make people rich at the same time? Some years ago when ex-foreign minister Chen Yi bluntly put that China should develop nuclear weapons at any cost “even if the people have to pawn their trousers”, Ming Pao founder Louis Chua criticized him strongly in an editorial. But Chen was honest - the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) does see it as an imperative to make atomic bombs even if that means people have to be starved to death. People’s livelihood and weapon production just cannot be taken care of at the same time.

After Mao Zedong died, Deng Xiaoping managed to save the CCP by launching the reform and opening up policy, embracing capitalism and getting rid of the communist model advocated by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin and Mao. Since 1980, Shenzhen has been a role model. Deng’s policy was thoroughly implemented by the administrations headed by Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. In truth, China managed to go from being a poor country to a rich state. Economic growth had been stunning. Yet that has also become a threat to the CCP - when people become richer, private enterprises account for an increasingly big part of the market, and technological innovation stems mainly from private companies, the power of the state and the CCP to control the country will decline. In China, GDP growth comes mainly from the government’s fixed investment, which takes the form of construction of high-speed rails, roads, power plants and so forth and is related to the country’s fiscal policy. Another source of GDP growth is private investment, consisting mainly of real estate investment and expanding output of private enterprises. The third source is domestic consumption. When the jobless rate is high, consumption will decline. Today, it is private enterprises that can create a large number of jobs. If they don’t do well or if their production shrinks, more people will become jobless. In that case, how can there be domestic demand?

So the CCP has to make a choice. If private enterprises are allowed to continue to grow to an extent that they will never fall, will they eventually pose a threat to the authority of the party and the state? Should the CCP vigorously step up control, suppress big private companies and give them a lesson whilst the economy is still robust? In the whole of China, only the CCP can mobilize people and no private company can have such a power. That is why as soon as he took power, Xi Jinping required private enterprises to establish their own party committees. Somebody, however, thinks he is the richest man in China. Donald Trump calls him Jack. His influence can be felt in any forum held in any part of the globe. India and Malaysia regard him as the god of technology. CCP leaders are aware of all that and has been waiting for the opportunity to snap. Alas, this man does not know who the boss is and who the subordinate is. At a financial forum last month, he criticized China’s financial supervision system and offended all big wigs who keep an eye on the financial sector. He deserves to be lashed in public. China’s regulatory body recently launched an investigation into Alibaba in the name of fighting monopolistic practice. That is a political game. In effect, this game has led the technology giant, which has been growing at full speed, to grind to a halt. Alibaba has been given a lecture on who is the one calling the shot. No doubt its share price will go down in the short run. The bigger question, however, is what punishment will be meted out to Ma, who has been lying low of late. China will prove itself to be almighty if this CCP member is ousted from the party.

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