1. Background and Significance of Private Enterprise Symposium
On February 17, 2025, a private enterprise symposium attended by President Xi Jinping and others was held, marking the first such event since November 2018. As trade friction intensifies and global economic uncertainty increases, China's economic outlook has become increasingly unclear, prompting the Chinese Communist Party and government to strengthen support for private enterprises. Thirty-one private entrepreneurs were invited to discuss private economic development, with participation by the top four members of the Chinese Communist Party hierarchy, demonstrating strong government commitment.
2. Characteristics and Speakers of Participating Companies
The symposium invited a total of 31 private entrepreneurs, with six given speaking opportunities. Notable participants included Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu, and other prominent private entrepreneurs from ICT, new energy vehicles, and robotics sectors. In the front row sat Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma, Tencent Chairman and CEO Ma Huateng, and CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun, demonstrating the significant presence of high-tech companies.
3. President Xi Jinping's Important Speech Content
President Xi emphasized that the basic policies of the Chinese Communist Party and state regarding private economic development cannot and will not change in the future. He stated that the Party and state should guarantee all types of ownership economies' rights to equal use of production factors according to law, fair participation in market competition, and equal protection under law, promoting mutual complementarity among all ownership types while fostering healthy development of non-public ownership economy (private economy).
4. Current Status and Challenge Recognition of Private Enterprises
President Xi emphasized that challenges and difficulties facing private economic development are partial and temporary, not overall and long-term, and are surmountable. Specifically, he mentioned removing various barriers preventing equal use of production factors and fair participation in competition according to law, addressing private enterprises' financing difficulties and high costs, unpaid bills, and correcting unreasonable fee collection and excessive fines.
5. Economic Status and Investment Trends of Private Enterprises
By the end of January 2025, China's private enterprises numbered 56,707,000, accounting for over 90% of all enterprises. They contribute over 50% of tax revenue, over 60% of GDP, over 70% of technological innovation achievements, and over 80% of urban employment, making them core entities. However, private fixed asset investment decreased by 0.1% in 2024, continuing negative growth from the previous year, with private investment's share of total fixed asset investment declining from 56.2% in 2015 to 50.1% in 2024.
6. External Environment and Regulatory Strengthening Impact
With Donald Trump's victory in the November 2024 US presidential election and his protectionist policies including additional tariffs, concerns arise about impacts on private enterprises that account for over 60% of export value. Additionally, since December 2020, strengthened anti-monopoly measures and prevention of disorderly capital expansion have continued, including 18.2 billion yuan fines on Alibaba Group and Ant Group's IPO postponement, leading to decreased private enterprise sentiment and development uncertainties.
7. Private Economy Promotion Law Enactment and Structure
On April 30, 2025, the Private Economy Promotion Law was passed at the 15th session of the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee and implemented from May 20. This is China's first basic law regarding private economic development, consisting of 9 chapters and 78 articles. The expressions "equality," "fairness," and "equivalent" appear 26 times, emphasizing that equality principles permeate all processes and fields of private economy development tasks.
8. Main Content of Private Economy Promotion Law
The law stipulates comprehensive support measures including fair competitive environment realization, investment and financing promotion, scientific and technological innovation, business standardization, service guarantee, and rights protection. Specifically, it clearly states implementation of market access negative list systems, equal treatment by financial institutions, support for participation in national important strategies and projects, and direct financing support through stock and bond issuance, providing legal backing for improving private enterprise operating environments.
9. Financial Support Policies and Local Government Response
Following the Private Economy Promotion Law's passage, the People's Bank of China increased agricultural and small-micro enterprise support re-lending by 300 billion yuan, creating synergistic effects with re-lending rate reduction policies. Within approximately one month of the law's passage, at least six provinces including Beijing, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Henan, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region issued policy documents for accelerating private economy, beginning concrete local-level initiatives.
10. Future Prospects and Challenges
Henan Province has set specific goals including increasing the number of companies ranked in "China's Top 500 Private Enterprises" to match the province's economic scale and making private enterprises account for over 80% of "Manufacturing Single-Item Champion Enterprises." Following the private enterprise symposium, the first basic law regarding private economic development has been established, but attention now focuses on how local governments will steadily implement and undertake support initiatives across vast China. Effective policy implementation at the operational stage will be key to private enterprise development and stable Chinese economic growth.