China's pivot from high-speed growth to high-quality development has unleashed a new era of opportunities for private enterprises, with economists predicting a surge in growth prospects and potential.
The country's private sector is in the spotlight this week after Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a symposium on private enterprises on Monday, which also gathered senior representatives from a number of prominent private businesses in China.
In a speech at the meeting, Xi urged efforts to promote the healthy and high-quality development of the country's private sector and said now is "a prime time for private enterprises and entrepreneurs to give full play to their capabilities."
Experts said the symposium sends positive signals towards the development of private enterprises in China, and with the country's private sector now poised for greater growth, many believe the technological, scientific, and economic strengths of this industry will serve as key drivers.
"China's private sector has developed significantly over the years, laying a solid foundation for future growth. At the same time, our country's comprehensive strength, scientific and technological strength and economic strength have also stepped up to a new level. Our human resources and talent quality are constantly improving, and the 1.4 billion Chinese people have a huge demand. All these have created great opportunities for the development of private enterprises," said Huang Hanquan, director of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Bai Chong'en, dean of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, highlighted the benefits of China's private economy, emphasizing its unique strengths and contributions to the country's development.
"The private sector can make a great contribution to innovation, especially in some relatively unknown and pioneering fields. Private enterprises have their advantages in this regard. Second, private sector players are usually more sensitive to the needs of residents, and can more easily grasp some new changes in residents' demands, and provide needed products and services according to the changes. We hope that the private sector can play a greater role in this respect," said Bai.
Innovation has become the most important driving force for many Chinese private enterprises, with eight out of every 10 newly developed products in China coming from private enterprises and nine of every 10 high-tech enterprises being private enterprises.
While opportunities arise, they are often accompanied by difficulties and challenges that must be navigated, according to Bai.
"The development of China's private economy faces numerous challenges, including common difficulties shared by all enterprises, such as changes in the international environment. In addition, the constantly changing economic structure also requires enterprises to constantly update their development mode and adapt to the changes," he said.
China's private sector poised for growth amid shift to high-quality development: experts
