E-commerce giant JD.com denies that founder Richard Liu and wife have moved to the US from China

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has denied speculation that its billionaire founder Richard Liu Qiangdong and his wife Zhang Zetian had emigrated to the US, crushing the latest rumours surrounding the personal life of one of the country’s most well-known entrepreneurs.

The Beijing-based firm wrote on its Weibo account on Monday that gossip circulating on social media, alleging that the couple had moved to the US or spent more than US$100 million there to buy luxury homes, were fabricated. It added that the company had reported the case to Chinese police.

In a letter attached to that post, a lawyer at Beijing-based law firm Jincheng Tongda & Neal, which represents the couple, warned that legal actions would be taken against any parties spreading the “false information”, which had “seriously damaged the reputation of Liu and Zhang”.

The statement comes amid efforts by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the top internet regulator, to quash online misinformation regarding private entrepreneurs and their businesses, in a bid to shore up private-sector confidence.

Richard Liu and wife Zhang Zetian. Photo: YouTube

Any attempt by a Chinese private entrepreneur to transfer assets to the US or apply for residence permits in foreign countries is usually interpreted by Chinese netizens as a sign of disloyalty to the country.

Following media reports last year that Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding, had been living in Tokyo for months, the retired business magnate also officially denied that he had migrated to Japan. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

There has been no public evidence showing that Liu and Zhang, who was dubbed “Milk Tea Sister” after an image of her holding a cup of bubble tea as a high school student went viral online, had emigrated to the US or purchased property there.

However, Zhang was said to have bought a four-bedroom, five-bathroom penthouse at Stamford Residences, a luxury apartment building located in the historic Sydney neighbourhood of The Rocks, for US$12 million in 2015, months before her wedding ceremony in Australia. She reportedly sold the flat for US$16 million in 2018.

Liu, who founded JD.com in 1998, grabbed headlines in 2018 after a Chinese student at the University of Minnesota accused him of raping her while he was in Minneapolis for a week-long residency as part of the school’s doctor of business administration programme.

Liu was briefly detained by local police and flew back to China hours after his release. Local prosecutors later decided not to prosecute him, citing lack of evidence. The student then filed a civil suit against Liu, which the two parties settled last year.

Liu has since kept a low profile, along with most other Chinese tech moguls.

South China Morning Post