But there is another reason for choosing Mr Ma this year: his decision in May to step down as Alibaba’s chief executive at the age of 48 to devote himself to tackling some of China’s biggest problems – in particular its looming environmental disaster.

但将马云评为今年的年度人物还有另一个原因：今年5月，他决定在年届48岁之际卸任阿里巴巴首席执行官职务，转而投身于应对中国一些最大的问题——尤其是中国日益迫近的环境灾难。

He remains executive chairman of the company but his decision to focus less on the blind pursuit of riches and more on improving the state of the world reflects a profound shift in Chinese society – one that is being facilitated by the rise of the internet. After three decades of double-digit economic growth, the country’s growing and increasingly vocal middle class is no longer content with a myopic focus on GDP growth rates.

马云仍是阿里巴巴的执行董事长，但他决定将更少的精力用于盲目追求财富，而将更多精力用于改善世界面貌，这反映了中国社会的深刻转变——互联网的崛起正使这种转型变得更加容易。在经历了30年的两位数经济增长后，中国不断壮大且越来越愿意表达自身诉求的中产阶层不再满足于短视地关注于GDP增长率。

“In China, because of problems in water, air and food safety, in 10 or 20 years we will face a lot of health problems, like increased cancer. So that is one area where I will invest my money and time,” Mr Ma said in a telephone interview last week. “My second focus is people’s culture and education – if we don’t do this then young Chinese people will grow up with deep pockets but shallow minds.”

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