Beijing working on policies ‘to support tech firms’

China is working on a raft of policies to support the country’s big tech platforms with innovation and globalisation, a shift in Beijing’s hardline regulatory stance on internet companies, according to a front-page editorial in the Economic Daily, a state-run Communist Party newspaper.

The period of extraordinary regulation over technology giants, which started in late 2020, will come to an end, giving way to market-based and rule-of-law supervision to create a good environment for the growth of the country’s internet platforms, according to the editorial.

The piece, published yesterday, echoed a message delivered at the most recent Politburo meeting last week, where officials voiced support for measures assisting in the “healthy development” of the platform economy. The meeting raised hopes that the 18-month regulatory storm, which has wiped about US$2 trillion in market value from tech stocks, could soon fizzle out.

“The platform economy is also of great significance to China’s economic development, and has played an irreplaceable role in stabilising growth, safeguarding jobs and promoting development,” read the editorial, which did not carry a byline. “How long the positive market mood can last depends on when and how strong the specific support measures are rolled out.”

“Relative departments need to make it happen soon and ensure that platforms can focus on development and get their energy back,” it added.

The new measures will allow big tech firms to play a role in upgrading the country’s manufacturing, promoting digitalisation of agriculture and stimulating consumer spending, according to the paper.

The commentary was published amid widespread expectations that regulators would begin easing the crackdown on tech giants. A symposium was planned for after the Labour Day holiday, which ended on Wednesday, to reassure tech executives that surprise fines and “rectification” measures would come to an end, the Post reported last week.

In another Politburo study session on Saturday, President Xi Jinping highlighted the importance of private capital in economic development as the country tries to rally an economy battered by the coronavirus.