Promoting the healthy and high-quality development of the private economy

Promoting the Healthy and High-Quality Development of the Private Economy

The purpose of convening this symposium is to listen to the voices of private entrepreneurs, engage in in-depth discussions, unify our thinking, strengthen confidence, and further address the prominent issues facing the development of the private economy. We aim to encourage and support private enterprises and entrepreneurs to boost their morale, overcome challenges, and promote the healthy and high-quality development of the private economy.

Private enterprises have flourished alongside the great journey of reform and opening-up, a fact that everyone can personally attest to. Since the beginning of reform and opening-up, I have held leadership positions from Hebei to Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and then to the central government. Throughout this journey, I have consistently emphasized the importance of supporting the healthy development of the private economy and the growth of private entrepreneurs.

Over the decades, our Party’s theory and practice regarding the role of the private economy in reform, opening-up, and socialist modernization, as well as the Party and state’s policies toward private economic development, have been consistent and evolving with the times. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Central Committee has issued multiple documents, and I have delivered numerous speeches and directives. The fundamental policies of the Party and state toward private economic development can be summarized as follows: The Communist Party of China leads the people in developing a socialist market economy, where the non-public sector is an important component of China’s socialist market economy and is protected by the Constitution and laws. The Party and state adhere to and improve the socialist basic economic system, unwaveringly consolidating and developing the public sector while encouraging, supporting, and guiding the development of the non-public sector. The Party and state ensure that all types of ownership economies use production factors equally under the law, participate in market competition fairly, and receive equal legal protection, promoting complementary advantages and common development among all types of ownership economies, as well as the healthy growth of non-public enterprises and entrepreneurs. These fundamental policies have been incorporated into the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and are clearly reflected in the Constitution and Party Charter. We will consistently uphold and implement them without change. This is the fundamental premise of our discussion on promoting private economic development.

Below, I will share three key points.

1. The Private Economy Has Broad Prospects and Great Potential in the New Era and New Journey

Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, our Party’s reform and opening-up policies have created unprecedented historical opportunities for the rapid development of the private economy. Today, China’s private economy has reached a considerable scale and holds significant weight. Private enterprises account for over 92% of all enterprises, and over 92% of national high-tech enterprises are privately owned. Private enterprises contribute more than 50% to imports, exports, and tax revenue, and over 80% to urban employment. The overall strength, innovation capability, and market competitiveness of the private economy have significantly improved, laying a solid foundation for its high-quality development.

In the new era and new journey, China’s social productivity will continue to rise, people’s living standards will steadily improve, and reform and opening-up will deepen comprehensively. The rapid development of education, science, and technology, along with a large and high-quality talent pool and labor force, a well-developed industrial and infrastructure system, and the emergence of new industries, business models, and formats, combined with the enormous potential of a super-sized market of over 1.4 billion people, presents numerous new opportunities and greater development space for the private economy. Most importantly, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics has multiple significant advantages, and the continuous improvement of the socialist market economy and the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics will provide stronger guarantees for private economic development. The current political, economic, and social environments are highly favorable for private economic development, making it an opportune time for private enterprises and entrepreneurs to excel.

Of course, we must also be aware that the private economy currently faces some difficulties and challenges. The most prominent include: the rapid advancement of the new technological revolution and industrial transformation, which has significantly impacted traditional industries; challenges faced by technology-oriented and export-driven private enterprises; some private enterprises’盲目 diversification and poor market and management practices; suboptimal development environments for private enterprises in some regions; inadequate implementation of policies to promote private economic development; and lingering misconceptions about the private economy in society.