China’s state-asset watchdog has urged the country’s state-owned enterprises to act as an anchor for strategic industries, while also calling for a predictable, level playing field for private firms – a combination it said was essential for building world-class businesses.
Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), outlined Beijing’s latest push to strengthen both the state and private sectors in an article published in Community Party newspaper People’s Daily on Monday.
State-owned enterprises need to help promote the resilience and competitiveness of China’s supply chains and push domestic manufacturers further up the value chain, particularly in areas related to national security and critical economic functions, according to Zhang.
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“We need to guide state capital to play a more active role in upgrading traditional industries, fostering cluster-based growth in strategic emerging sectors, and nurturing the industries of the future,” he said.
The article also said SOEs must become engines of innovation and cornerstones of modern industrial supply chains, with Zhang calling on firms to step up applied basic research and accelerate breakthroughs in core technologies.
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China’s centrally administered state-owned enterprises invested 1.1 trillion yuan (US$154.6 billion) on research and development last year, with their R&D spending rising by 6.5 per cent per year on average since 2021, according to official data.
The article also pledged support for private companies. Capable private firms should be trusted to participate in major national research projects and encouraged to expand their presence in emerging and future industries, it said.