It is unclear if the joint ownership has commenced, but it is publicly documented that SASAC director Hao Peng invited Jack Ma to the SASAC office on June 16, and invited Pony Ma on July 31.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma led a $313 million funding of Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology, and Tencent Holdings founder Pony Ma organized a $1 billion investment round for NIO Inc.

China’s Vice Premier Liu He, Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent CEO Pony Ma, and Baidu Chairman Robin Li, who recently stepped down from his role at the cloud computing unit of internet giant Baidu, also served as board members in the past year.

Other guest speakers include Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma, Tencent  CEO Pony Ma, and Baidu CEO Robin Li.

'Pony' Ma Huateng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tencent Holdings Ltd. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) Censorship Powerhouse The most widely used messaging and social media app in China is WeChat, which is made by Tencent.

Alibaba's co-founder Jack Ma (R) and Tencent Holdings' CEO Pony Ma applaud during a celebration meeting marking the 40th anniversary of China's "reform and opening up" policy at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Dec. 18, 2018.

The People's Daily list also included Baidu head Robin Li and Tencent Holding Ltd chief Pony Ma, though did not name either of them as Party members. Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent together make up the "BAT" trio of China's top tech firms.

He was referring to recent headlines in Chinese media that Pony Ma, CEO of Chinese tech giant Tencent, and Liu Qiangdong, founder of JD.com, a top e-retailer site in China, appeared in the uniform of Cultural Revolution-era Red Guards while on a trip

Meanwhile, regime-friendly CEOs, Jack Ma of Alibaba—who has openly expressed support for the Chinese regime’s policies—and Pony Ma of Tencent—the parent company of WeChat, a social media platform known to comply with China’s internet censorship and monitoring

Pony Ma, chief executive of WeChat’s parent company Tencent, said on March 5 that the platform had hit the landmark figure of one billion users during last month’s Lunar New Year festival.

Alibaba's co-founder Jack Ma (R) and Tencent Holdings' CEO Pony Ma applaud during a celebration meeting marking the 40th anniversary of China's "reform and opening up" policy at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Dec. 18, 2018.

And Jack Ma did that. He was the leader of it. I knew him. And as soon as they start cracking down on Jack Ma and Pony Ma and all the people who are really crucial to their success, they are beginning to fail.

Tencent chief Pony Ma told state television in a recent interview that "there are challenges of various kinds right now" in the market.

For instance, four members of the Hurun top ten list—Robin Li, Lu Guanqiu, Jack Ma, and Pony Ma—were part of the group of Chinese businessmen who accompanied Party leader Xi Jinping on his first formal state visit to the United States.