I would have expected being a party member to just be the default in order for anyone to do anything of substance in China, but he comes across extremely poorly in that interview.
So poorly, that I find it more likely that the companies are being propped up/operated by the government than someone like him could successfully build/run them.
Maybe I'm indexing too much on that, but watch it for yourself, definitely weird.
To your second point: doing business in China is partially owed to the niche that the government carves for you. Look at the debacle of Ofo vs Mobike. You need to grow at all costs until you can overtake competition then you're protected.
> doing business in China is partially owed to the niche that the government carves for you...You need to grow at all costs until you can overtake competition then you're protected.
I suspect this protection is what allows people to succeed that would otherwise fail in a real competition. In that interview he comes across like an empty suit/figurehead. It wasn't a huge surprise to me that they got rid of him.