Wang Sicong attends a music festival in 2017. Photo: IC

A court in Beijing confirmed that it has listed Wang Sicong, the "son China's richest man," as a person subject to enforcement requiring him to repay millions in debts, which netizens said was a big blow for his public image.

Wang, 31, the only child of Wang Jianlin, chairman of property giant the Wanda Group, whose net worth was estimated by Forbes to $12.5 billion, was listed on Monday by the second Beijing Intermediate People's Court as failing to repay a debt of 150 million yuan ($21.4 million), the Shanghai-based media outlet thepaper.cn reported on Wednesday.

The report quoted the court as saying it had not included Wang Sicong on bad social credit list or restricted him from high consumption."

China is building a government-led national social credit system that assesses individuals, enterprises and government agencies on their credit worthiness. A bad record on the social credit system can affect a person's qualification to apply for loans or buy tickets for high-speed trains or flights. 

Wang's debts came after Beijing Pusi Investment Ltd (Prometheus Capital), in which he serves as the chairman and holds 100 percent of the shares, was ordered frozen from October 15 to October 14, 2022 by a Shanghai court. The amount that has been ordered frozen is not disclosed, according to tianyancha.com, an online platform that offers industrial and commercial enterprise data and registry information.

The online video venture Panda TV, which Wang invested in, went bankrupt in March.

The news that Wang was listed as judgment debtor has sparked a big splash on Chinese social media with his name topped the trending list on Sina Weibo. And the topic "Wang Sicong was listed as a person subjected to enforcement" has been viewed 52.3 million times as of press time.

Netizens joked that Wang, who is a bachelor called "national husband," might not be allowed to use his wealth to purchase a luxury lifestyle.  

During a live-streaming entertainment show in 2016, when being asked by the host why he needs so many cars, Wang smugly asked, "Why do you buy so many clothes?"

"150 million yuan is not a lot for Wanda, he could make a comeback with his father's help, but the situation will still be difficult for him," an observer in the commerce field, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Wang, as a high-profile public figure, enjoys a lot of attention that ordinary people do not, the observer said, urging Wang to pay the debt.

Wang, who used to be very active on social media, set his Weibo account that only posts in recent half year are visible to the public. He did not post anything in the past six months and the account appeared to be empty.

Chinese entrepreneur Sun Yuchen tweeted on Weibo that he was considering helping Wang pay the debt, saying Wang "can give the money back to me," which netizens said was merely a publicity stunt.

The social media topic "Sun Yuchen is considering helping Wang Sicong pay debts" has been viewed 84.67 million times.

Sun won a charity auction for a lunch meeting with Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett but canceled the July meeting claiming he had "a sudden kidney stone attack." Reports, however, said he was put on a border control list by the Chinese authorities and restricted from traveling abroad amid allegations of illegal fundraising, money laundering, gambling and spreading pornography.

Wang reportedly said at the time that Sun was stupid.