For more than two years, the Chinese authorities have been cracking down on large parts of the private sector, from indebted property companies to data-sensitive tech groups. The campaign was so intense that prominent tycoons such as Internet billionaire Jack Ma sought refuge overseas.

But this past week, just as China’s entrepreneurs were beginning to look like an endangered species, one of the most powerful regulators abruptly changed its tune. From now on, decreed the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the “legitimate rights” of the corporate class would be respected. No one would be allowed to bad mouth the country’s bosses any more.