The head of one of the largest Chinese e-commerce companies Jack Ma has become a member of the Chinese Communist Party, CNBC reported.

The People's Daily revealed Ma's Party membership in a list of 100 people who had helped drive the country "reform and opening up" process.

According to Forbes, Ma is China's richest man with a fortune of $35.8 billion.

“Political affiliation of any executive does not influence the company’s business decision-making process. We follow all laws and regulations in countries where we operate as we fulfill our mission of making it easier for people to do business anywhere in the digital era,” Alibaba spokesperson said.

Alibaba Group is one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. It was founded in 1999 by the Chinese businessman Jack Ma. Its capitalization in 2018 was estimated at $ 500 billion, with 80 million employees worldwide.