President Xi vows to crackdown on ‘excessively high incomes’ of China’s wealthiest

Pledge comes amid Chinese efforts to rein in tech companies

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China's President Xi looks set to clamp down on the "excessively high incomes" of the country's top earners.

According to state media, the Communist Party leader called for high salaries to be regulated at an economic forum on Tuesday.

His comments came amid an ongoing effort by China to tighten its grip on technology companies, who are being urged to give back to the "people".

Business magnate Jack Ma, co-founder of the Alibaba Group - China's Amazon equivalent - last year had a public offering of $37bn for his Ant Group cancelled after he criticised financial regulators.

Speaking at the Chinese Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, Mr Xi reportedly called on ministers to “regulate excessively high incomes and encourage high-income groups and enterprises to return more to society”.

The commission said it would pursue those goals through its "common prosperity agenda", which critics say is aimed at reigning in a new generation of wealthy entrepreneurs.

The wealthiest one per cent of Chinese people now hold about 31 per cent of the country’s wealth, up from 21 per cent two decades ago, according to a Credit Suisse report.

The Covid pandemic, which hit small businesses and poor workers hardest, has exacerbated the gap, yet the number of newly-minted ultra-rich surged 50 per cent compared to 2019 as financial markets soared.

The government said it aims to expand the size of middle-income groups, increase the earnings of low-income groups, “reasonably” regulate that of high-income groups, and ban illegal income.

It will make adjustments on taxation, social security, and fiscal transfer payments, and create more inclusive and fair conditions for people to have better education and upward mobility, according to a meeting summary.

After receiving criticism from the president in November, reports in June suggested Mr Ma is "lying low" and has “taken up painting as a hobby”.

“He’s lying low right now, I talk to him every day,” Joe Tsai, the company’s executive vice-chairman and Ma’s co-founder was quoted as saying by CNBC.

“He’s actually doing very, very well. He’s taken up painting as a hobby, it’s actually pretty good.”

Additional reporting by Reuters