China response to Evergrande influenced by links to Xi's rivals

Founder Xu's coziness to once-powerful Youth League turns from boon to barrier

Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin was photographed at the Tiananmen gate tower during July's Communist Party anniversary event. (Photo courtesy of China Evergrande Group)

TSUKASA HADANO, Nikkei staff writer

September 25, 2021 06:22 JST

BEIJING -- Before China Evergrande Group's slide into crisis, its founder and chairman Xu Jiayin turned heads with a photo op along the Tiananmen gate tower during the July 1 celebration of the Chinese Communist Party's 100th anniversary.