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Shares of Baidu tumbled in Hong Kong on Monday, erasing $2.4 billion in market value, after the Chinese tech giant’s founder and CEO Robin Li was noticeably absent from a high-profile meeting between President Xi Jinping and some of China’s most influential corporate leaders.

Xi’s rare symposium in Beijing brought together top business figures, including Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei, in what analysts see as a government effort to reaffirm support for China’s technology sector. However, two sources told Reuters that Li was not spotted at the event, raising investor concerns over Baidu’s standing in China’s AI landscape.

Market Reacts to Speculation

Baidu’s Hong Kong-listed shares dropped as much as 8.8% before closing down 7%, making it the biggest loser on both the Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng Tech Index.

Market analysts say the company’s stock had already shown weakness earlier in the day after Baidu announced it would fully integrate its search engine with DeepSeek, the rising Chinese AI startup, alongside its proprietary Ernie large language model.

“That implies the company is losing its edge after years of leading in AI with Ernie. It suggests Baidu may now need to catch up with newcomers like DeepSeek,” a regional brokerage sales director told Reuters, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the topic.

The absence of Baidu’s leadership from Xi’s meeting has further fueled speculation that the company may be losing influence within China’s tech ecosystem, potentially impacting its long-term market position.

Baidu’s AI Push Amid Growing Competition

Baidu has been aggressively expanding its artificial intelligence capabilities as it seeks to diversify beyond its traditional search engine business. It was among the first Chinese firms to launch a ChatGPT-style chatbot, rolling out Ernie 4.0 in 2023, which Baidu claims rivals OpenAI’s GPT-4.

However, with DeepSeek rapidly gaining traction in China’s AI sector, analysts believe Baidu is facing increasing pressure to maintain its competitive edge.

The Chinese government’s meeting with tech leaders signaled renewed support for the industry, following years of heavy regulatory scrutiny. But with Baidu’s absence from the gathering, investors are left wondering whether the company still holds the same level of favor within Beijing’s tech agenda.

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