When Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, gave the keynote speech at a conference at his company’s headquarters in 2014, he wore a grey T-shirt. When he spoke to a global audience at the Newseum in 2013, he donned his favored hooded sweatshirt. But when he met General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping on Sept. 23, Zuckerberg chose instead a sharp navy suit and a tasteful red tie.
According to China Daily, a Chinese state media company, Zuckerberg said he’s long been studying the works of Xi Jinping. “He knows that what Xi Jinping said today was in line with his previous thoughts, which is that China will resolutely open up to the world,” China Daily continued. “Xi Jinping is a man of staunch character, and his speech today demonstrated the position and attitude he’s held all along. He gives confidence to the American Internet industry.”
All this was attributed to Mark Zuckerberg, though it’s unclear how much, if any, of it is indeed what Zuckerberg said.
On his own Facebook feed, Zuckerberg did remark that he was honored to meet Xi Jinping, and he has long been attempting to court the Chinese market. Learning Mandarin and making fawning comments about the wisdom of Xi Jinping’s collected works are thought to be part of this broad strategy.
Whether that is actually a good idea, however, is another question. The Chinese Communist Party is known to play hardball with foreign companies, particularly tech firms, that seek to establish a presence in China.
Often, the price of entry into the China market is handing over intellectual property that Chinese companies can then use and develop products themselves.
