Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include the latest information on Xi Jinping’s meeting with technology leaders and associated market fluctuations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a rare high-level symposium with the country’s leading entrepreneurs on Monday, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) (OTC:BABAF)  founder Jack Ma, marking Ma’s most significant public engagement with top leadership since Beijing’s 2020 tech crackdown.

What Happened: The gathering, which included Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, and electric vehicle maker BYD’s (OTC:BYDDY) Wang Chuanfu, comes as Chinese tech stocks reach their highest levels since February 2022, reported South China Morning Post. 

Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares surged over 4% in early trading Monday before plunging at HKD 119.60 ($15.37), down 3.63%. 

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Why It Matters: Recent developments have provided some optimism. The emergence of the domestic AI model DeepSeek and reports of Alibaba’s potential collaboration with Apple Inc. to bring AI features to iPhones in China by mid-2025 have fueled market enthusiasm. 

The China Enterprises Index jumped 4.1% last Friday, with Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares gaining over 50% in the past month.

However, challenges loom as U.S.-China tensions escalate. Following Trump’s recent 10% tariff implementation on Chinese products, Beijing retaliated with similar measures and increased export controls on critical minerals.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.