Not sure on this comment but most if not all these companies have financing from China banks which will inherently require some level of government approval. The nature of government involvement is so integral to the economy that any comparison to the west or allegation of government support is non-sensical. You cannot exist without at some level of government approval. The larger that you become means that the higher level of consent / approval required. It does not mean necessarily that you are an appendage of the government. It is widely understood that going outside the unstated rules means you will punished, see tencent. China is a state run economy so while companies can be private that does not mean they are independent in the Western sense. It also does not mean that they are appendages of the government in the Russian paradigm. It is more confusing which makes analogies like Hugo unhelpful if not down right detrimental.