JD.com billionaire founder Richard Liu a no-show at high-profile events in China as US rape accusation hangs
- Liu was arrested and released by Minneapolis police in August on suspicion of rape
- JD.com founder did not attend World Internet Conference in Wuzhen and other industry events since arrest
JD.com’s billionaire founder Richard Liu Qiangdong, who is the subject of a rape investigation in the US, will be a conspicuous no-show again at a major state-sponsored event in China since his arrest and release by Minneapolis in August.
The Beijing-based e-commerce firm confirmed that Liu will not be attending the World Internet Conference, which opened on Wednesday in the picturesque canal-lined town of Wuzhen. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter, read out at the event opening.
Liu was not among the top private business leaders invited to meet with Xi at a symposium last month, which included the founders and chief executives of Tencent Holdings, Baidu, Xiaomi and Alibaba Group Holding.
He was also not among the Communist Party’s list of private entrepreneurs honoured for their contributions on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up. In late September, he was a no-show at the AI World 2018 conference in Shanghai.
His low profile in China contrasts with previous years when he was seen at similar events along with other tech executives. Liu attended the wedding of Princess Eugenie last month in London with his wife Zhang Zetian.
Before his rape arrest, Liu had worked hard to raise his international profile as JD.com seeks to expand beyond China.
Earlier this year, Liu made his first appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Speaking at a lunch for about 50 people including Adidas Group chief executive Kasper Rorsted and Walmart’s US chief Greg Foran, Liu told those gathered about how he overcame poverty and came to start and build JD.com, speaking in what he self-deprecatingly called “Suqian English”, after his hometown in northern Jiangsu province.