I agree with this. The CCP has a long history of paranoia about losing control, whether Falun Gong or billionaires who needed a reminder about how money is made and taken away. Xi's China seems particularly paranoid, and i can think of at least five billionaires who have been put in their place over the past few years.

In hindsight, it is probably no surprise that Jack Ma was going to get a public dressing down at some point. No matter how much he pledged allegiance to the CCP, he was still a political outsider and thus a potential threat. It also sends a very strong message to other tech billionaires in China.