President Xi Jinping told China’s most prominent entrepreneurs that the government’s basic principles and policies concerning the development of the private economy have been incorporated into the socialist system and will be consistently upheld and implemented.
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“They cannot and will not change,” he said.
The symposium, the first of its kind to be hosted by Xi since 2018, came amid a severe ebb in private sector morale prompted by a volatile mix of economic issues, including heightened geopolitical tensions with the US and harsh regulatory crackdowns on some of the country’s corporate giants.
“Difficulties and challenges facing the private economy largely emerged in reform and industrial upgrades … They are temporary, not long-term ones. They can be overcome,” Xi said at a high-level symposium with executives of leading companies in Beijing on Monday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
It is the right time for private enterprises and entrepreneurs to showcase their talents and make significant contributions, he was quoted as saying.
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Confidence among entrepreneurs and investors in China has been muted amid a sluggish domestic economic recovery, worsening geopolitical tensions with the US and earlier regulatory crackdowns on some of the country’s corporate giants in the name of addressing monopolistic behaviour.
Although Beijing has made numerous overtures to shore up business sentiment in the past year, enacting new laws to promote and protect the private sector, these efforts have frequently been undermined by contradictory actions from local law enforcement. Some localities, bereft of revenue after a decline in land sales, began penalising firms with heavy fines – an action that received heavy criticism from central officials.