Big Tech in CPPCC: Baidu’s Robin Li, NetEase’s Ding Lei no longer delegates of China’s top political advisory body

The founders of Baidu, NetEase and Sogou are no longer in the delegate list of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference

The annual meetings of the CPPCC and the National People’s Congress, known as the ‘two sessions’, make up China’s most important political event of the year

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Baidu CEO Robin Li speaks to the media as he arrives for the opening session of the CPPCC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in March 2019. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:15pm, 18 Jan 2023

Several of China’s biggest names in technology have stepped down from their delegate roles in China’s top political advisory body, which announced its latest list of members on Wednesday.

Robin Li Yanhong, co-founder and CEO of internet search and artificial intelligence giant Baidu; William Ding Lei, founder and CEO of China’s second-largest video gaming firm by revenue NetEase; and Wang Xiaochuan, founder of the country’s second-largest search engine Sogou, are not among the 2,172 delegates of the 14th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The CPPCC meets annually in Beijing in March to submit policy proposals and discuss topics regarding the nation’s most pressing political, economic and social issues. Along with the National People’s Congress (NPC) gathering, which takes place concurrently, the “two sessions” are considered the biggest event on the Chinese political calendar.

Ding Lei, founder and CEO of NetEase, attends the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen in October 2019. Photo: Reuters

CPPCC delegate candidates are nominated by legally recognised minor political parties, associations and industry leaders; reviewed by authorities designated by the Chinese Communist Party; and voted on by the CPPCC’s standing committee, according to the body’s website.

Delegates are elected on five-year terms, and there is no age or term limit, according to the official rules. Li, 54, completes his two terms this year, while Ding, 51, and Wang, 44, will both wrap up their first term.

Baidu, NetEase and Wang did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wang quit his CEO position at Sogou in 2021 after the company was acquired by Tencent Holdings.

Wang Xiaochuan, founder of Sogou, poses for a photograph on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in March 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Zhou Hongyi, the 52-year-old founder and chairman of internet security firm 360 Security Technology formerly known as Qihoo 360, will stay for another term.