Advisers urge support for private businesses

THE importance of private enterprises needs to be further enhanced in Shanghai with new targeted measures for private businesses to thrive, while the city should also set up more headquarters.

At the ongoing Shanghai CPPCC session, the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce and local political advisers have proposed leveraging private business headquarters to reinvigorate economic development.

As of July 2023, Shanghai has accredited five batches of a total of 501 private enterprise headquarters and institutions, covering manufacturing, information services, wholesale and retail, and science and technology.

Private business plays a crucial role in the economy and has been showing strong momentum, especially in the smart technology and manufacturing sectors.

According to the federation, around 80 percent of high-tech firms in the city are privately owned, and in the first half of 2023, the total import and export value of private businesses in the city stood at 641 billion yuan (US$89 billion), up of 20.7 percent year on year. Their combined export value accounted for 40.2 percent of the city’s total export value.

The proposal from the federation calls for further efforts to bolster the vitality of businesses, such as those specializing in financial investment or innovative research activities.

Joint approaches should be drawn up for the city to focus on private businesses in strategic industries such as integrated circuits, biopharmaceuticals, and artificial intelligence.

There should also be different criteria for varied kinds of headquarters of private businesses in diverse industry sectors, so that there could be further synergies to fully leverage resources and boost economic development.

Shanghai CPPCC member Wang Sen also called for more support for the financing needs of private businesses.