TOP OFFICIAL MOVES TO REASSURE PRIVATE FIRMS
CPPCC chairman tells business representatives the leadership will stick to reform and continue to provide ‘unswerving’ support for non-public sector
The chief of the central government’s top advisory body has moved to allay fears the authorities are not doing enough to support private companies, the latest attempt to reassure a jittery sector that is struggling with pandemic lockdowns and regulatory crackdowns.
The country will stick to its reform and opening-up policies, while the promise of “unswervingly” encouraging, supporting and guiding the development of the non-public sector will not change, and neither will the basic economic system that strives for the “common development of various forms of ownership”, according to Wang Yang, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
“This is decided by the party’s basic theory, basic line and basic strategy, having the guarantee of the constitution and laws,” Wang, who is No 4 in the party hierarchy, was quoted by the official People’s Daily newspaper as saying.
“Any words and deeds that negate or doubt the basic economic system are not in line with the party’s general principles. Do not believe or circulate them,” he reportedly told representatives of the business communities at a meeting held during the “two sessions” policy-setting gatherings in Beijing.
Wang’s comments serve to reinforce the greater emphasis that Beijing has placed on job security in the government’s 2022 work report. The private sector is responsible for about 80 per cent of the nation’s urban jobs.
His message also came as decision makers have been stepping up their efforts to assuage the private sector’s growing anxieties and scepticism, particularly as authorities have pushed to make state-owned enterprises “stronger and better”.
The discussion and discord further intensified last year as Beijing imposed regulatory crackdowns on a wide range of sectors, from tech to off-campus tutoring, which include mostly private companies.
The leadership has warned about “threefold pressures” facing the country, including “weaker expectations”, which experts have said was a reflection of waning confidence among entrepreneurs.
Ripples from the regulatory shock had continued to spread, said Jia Kang, former head of the finance ministry’s research institute.
“How [does China] further reassure private firms? I don’t think this problem has been well resolved yet,” he wrote last month in an article published on his public WeChat channel.
He said many in the private sector were still feeling discriminated against even though the central government had repeatedly described private businesses and entrepreneurs as “our own people”.
“[We should] give the market, especially private enterprises, a sense of direction, security and hope in the process of development,” he said.
Wang acknowledged that both the coronavirus pandemic and the transformation of the country’s economic development model had led to mounting pressure on private companies.
“However, the difficulties are more industry-based rather than all-sided, and more short-term than long-term. The overall strength, innovative vitality and risk-averse ability of the private economy are all increasing,” Wang said.
“The more complicated and serious the situation is, the more we should have confidence in the party’s major policies,” he added, noting that the private sector was an important foundation of the economy.
Wang called on all regional authorities to take proactive steps and enhance their ability to put support policies for the private economy into practice, while being responsive to the feedback and suggestions from private enterprises.
“We will provide equitable and law-based protection to the property rights and independent management rights of enterprises, and to the lawful rights and interests of entrepreneurs,” the government’s annual work report issued on Saturday said.