In this episode, we are looking at the battle unfolding in China between its big tech companies and Communist Party regulators in the wake of the latest tussle in this on-going tug-of-war. On June 30, the ride-hailing app Didi, which dominates the China market, raised $4.4 billion in its much-anticipated listing on the New York Stock Exchange, the biggest Chinese listing since Alibaba. Days later, its value would crash with regulators announcing an investigation and taking the extraordinary step of banning Didi from registering users

and removing its app from app stores. The Didi episode follows November's shock suspension of an IPO by Alipay, the financial payments arm of Alibaba. What is driving the tensions between the Party and Big Tech? Where is China's tech sector headed? What do the moves mean for the global ambitions of China's Internet giants?

Guest: Santosh Pai, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi

Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu

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