JD’s Founder Steps Down as CEO of $92 Billion Empire (1)

JD.com Inc.’sbillionaire founder Richard Liu has stepped down as chief executive officer of China’s No. 2 online retailer, joining tech tycoons that exited top management roles after Beijing’s sweeping internet-sector crackdown.

Xu Lei, who was recently promoted to president after more than a decade at the company, takes the helm of the e-commerce titan effective immediately. Liu’s lieutenant joins JD’s six-member board while Liu remains chairman, the company said in a filing Thursday. Its shares closed 3.2% lower in Hong Kong.

Richard Liu

Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg

Some of China’s richest entrepreneurs have relinquished the reins of their companies in the past two ...