China is trying to identify fault lines in a weak economy that survived for decades on a borrowing binge. Along with Mr. Xiao, Beijing has also targeted Wu Xiaohui, who married a granddaughter of the former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, rose to prominence and bought the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Mr. Wu found himself in the government’s cross hairs in 2018, when his insurance firm Anbang Group was seized. Mr. Xiao and the business dealings he undertook — most of them hidden within the Russian-doll-like layers of Tomorrow Group — illustrated the cozy ties between China’s business world and its political elite. From humble beginnings, Mr. Xiao made his way to the prestigious Peking University, an institution that would prove critical to his entry into the world of finance.

Source: New York Times July 18, 2020 12:09 UTC