China moves to end tech crackdown as Covid threatens economy

Chinese government authorities will meet with the country's big tech firms after the Labour Day holiday, signalling the South China Morning Post reported.

The news has raised hopes that Beijing will stop its long-running, sweeping regulatory clampdown on the tech sector. As a result, Shanghai and Hong Kong led a rally across Asian and European markets on Friday.

According to the Xinhua news agency, officials met with the Chinese Communist Party's decision-making body. It said that it was "necessary to promote the healthy development of the platform economy" and "complete its rectification".

The Politburo meeting was chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping and after the meeting, officials said there was a need to "respond to market concerns in a timely manner".Financial experts have warned officials will struggle to achieve a soft landing by controlling prices while still nurturing growth and the recovery in the US economy could be thrown off course.