Words: Tom Ward
From spy balloons over the US to concerns around telecommunications company Huawei, tensions between the West and China are ramping up as China increasingly establishes itself as a global power – and one forecast by some to surpass the US economically, at least for a while. The latest political tiff comes not from the US, but from Belgium, where the country’s state security service (VSSE) said they would be looking into Chinese holding group, Alibaba, enquiring into “possible spying and/or interference activities” at Liège Airport, where the Chinese company houses its main European logistics centre.
Founded in Hangzhou, Zhejiang in 1999, Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational. According to its rather vague registration statement, it specialises in “e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology.” Its focus is on consumer to consumer, business to consumer and business to business sales services in China and abroad. But this is no backwater front: Alibaba went public on the New York Stock exchange in 2014, raising $25bn. The company then signed an $800m sponsorship deal with the International Olympic Committee, set to last from 2017 to 2028. As of the 2020 Forbes Global 2000 list, Alibaba was the 31st largest public company in the world – which begs the question, if you’re going to set up a company with a sideline in espionage, surely there are less conspicuous ways to do it?
“One day I was in San Francisco in a coffee shop, and I was thinking Alibaba is a good name,” explained well known Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, one of the company’s founders and its chairman until 2018. “And then a waitress came, and I said do you know about Alibaba? And she said yes. I said what do you know about Alibaba, and she said 'Open Sesame.' And I said yes, this is the name! Then I went onto the street and found 30 people and asked them, 'Do you know Alibaba'? People from India, people from Germany, people from Tokyo and China... They all knew about Alibaba. Alibaba -- open sesame.”
Alibaba denies any wrong doing but the VSSE still believes that the company’s presence at Liège Airport “still constitutes a point of attention”. The crux of the Belgian authority’s concern is a piece of Chinese legislation which obligates Chinese companies to share data with Chinese intelligence services and other authorities. Explaining the situation to the FT, Jonathan Holslag, a professor of international politics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, said the worry was that Alibaba, “alongside a couple of other logistical platforms that the Chinese have been proposing to European countries, is giving them a lot of insights into supply chains and into eventual vulnerabilities.”
VSSE has not yet revealed specific allegations, or pointed to possible evidence of wrongdoing but Holslag also suggested Alibaba’s logistics arm, Cainiao could access customer information.“Knowledge about important changes in consumption patterns and knowledge about the logistical chain is valuable for China as a country that tries to dominate the supply chain,” he said.
Alibaba had signed an agreement with Belgian officials in 2018 which would allow Cainiao to run an e-commerce trade hub, including investment in logistics infrastructure. In September, Alibaba filed to list Cainiao on the Hong Kong stock exchange as part of a planned move to restructure its business by splintering into six separate units – a move reportedly engineered by Jack Ma himself as he makes an apparent return to the public eye following regulatory crackdowns on his businesses, beginning in late 2020.
Cainiao “strongly denies” any allegations of wrong doing. “Cainiao is in compliance with all laws and regulations where it operates,” a spokesperson said.
“Alibaba -- 40 thieves. Alibaba is not a thief,” Jack Ma continued in his tale of how the company got its name. “Alibaba is a kind, smart business person, and he helped the village. So...easy to spell, and global know. Alibaba opens sesame for small- to medium-sized companies. We also registered the name AliMama, in case someone wants to marry us!”
Ma’s reemergence and newly active role in Alibaba is perhaps the most interesting story here unless, of course, a Belgian 007 should stumble onto something untoward at Liège Airport. In today’s conspiracy-laden atmosphere tales of Chinese spies seem exciting and worrying in equal measure. Perhaps the real story is much more mundane. Then again, perhaps not.
Become a Gentleman’s Journal Member?
Like the Gentleman’s Journal? Why not join the Clubhouse, a special kind of private club where members receive offers and experiences from hand-picked, premium brands. You will also receive invites to exclusive events, the quarterly print magazine delivered directly to your door and your own membership card.