The "technological content" is increasing, and the implementation of policies is accelerating... An in-depth interpretation of the private enterprise symposium, with three key points worth noting!
2025.02.18
It is worth mentioning that the legislative process for the private economy is accelerating.
After more than six years, a high-profile symposium for private enterprises was convened again, marking another milestone in the development of the private economy. According to Xinhua News Agency, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the symposium on private enterprises in Beijing on the morning of the month and delivered an important speech.
Compared to previous years, what are the changes in the domestic and international context of this symposium? What are the differences in the functional positioning and expectations of senior leadership towards private enterprises? What policy direction is reflected by the concentration of participating companies in the technology and consumer sectors, and what signals are being sent by the focus on opening up competitive fields and addressing the cash flow issues of private enterprises? What impacts will the increased policy efforts this year and the implementation of the Private Economy Promotion Law have on private enterprises, the capital market, and the macroeconomic trend?
Zhang Jun, Chief Economist at China Galaxy Securities, stated that the previous private enterprise symposium of the same scale responded to the notion that "private enterprises have completed their historical mission," greatly boosting market confidence and ushering in a three-year bull market. This symposium is of significant importance for the high-quality development of private enterprises, helping to enhance the confidence of micro entities and market risk appetite, dispelling doubts about uncertainties, and serving as a decisive factor for the market.
Lu Zhe, Chief Economist at Dongwu Securities, wrote an analysis stating that the timing of this meeting is quite similar to that of the annual private entrepreneurs' forum. The impact of tariffs on exports generally affects private enterprises more than state-owned enterprises, with private enterprises accounting for about % of China's total exports. Holding the meeting at this time reflects the central government's support and care for private enterprises and also helps stabilize social expectations and confidence.
At this symposium, there has been a shift in the functional positioning and expectations for the private economy and private enterprises. Zhang Jun pointed out that previous annual symposiums primarily affirmed the status of private enterprises and reassured entrepreneurs, whereas this symposium called on private enterprises to "harbor aspirations to serve the nation" and "strive to win," urging them to focus on their core businesses, strengthen their industries, and make greater contributions to China's modernization. The speech specifically mentioned six key directions: promoting technological innovation, cultivating new productive forces, building a modern industrial system, comprehensively advancing rural revitalization, promoting coordinated regional development, and ensuring and improving people's livelihoods.
The expectations for private enterprises at the annual symposium mainly include stable growth, promoting innovation, increasing employment, and improving people's livelihoods. This symposium places greater emphasis on the quality of development, meaning more advanced industries and more coordinated development.
From the perspective of the industries represented by the participating companies, the annual participants are primarily concentrated in the high-end manufacturing sector, with a noticeable increase in companies from the technology and consumer sectors. Specifically, typical annual participants are more focused on areas such as new energy (CATL, Chint), automotive (Huawei, BYD, Xiaomi), semiconductors (Will Semiconductor), robotics (Unitree Technology), consumer electronics (Huawei, Xiaomi), internet (Alibaba), and artificial intelligence (DeepSeek).
Zhang Jun analyzed that the proportion of the technology sector has further increased, and its position in the ecological chain has also been elevated, advancing towards high-end technology industries. This not only affirms the technological breakthroughs made by private enterprises in areas related to new quality productivity but also highlights the comprehensive support for technological innovation at the current policy level. Additionally, the participation of companies related to agriculture and cybersecurity in both symposiums indicates that food and information security are areas of continuous concern at the policy level.
Lu Zhe mentioned that the two highlights during the Spring Festival were the entertainment sector's "Ne Zha" and the technology sector's (Deep Exploration). The former has already broken numerous box office records, while the latter has achieved optimization in computational efficiency under the pressure of U.S. export controls. Both of these achievements are inseparable from China's private enterprises, which are also the vitality of the Chinese economy. Therefore, a significant feature of this private enterprise symposium is its high technological content. This symposium will also serve as the starting point for a new wave of development for private enterprises and technology, and the capital market is expected to benefit significantly.
Teng Tai, the president of Wanbo New Economic Research Institute, told the First Financial Reporter that the private economy symposium, held again after nearly seven years, fully demonstrates the consistent attention and support from the Party Central Committee towards the private economy through its high-level format. The representatives from participating enterprises focused on technological innovation and the consumer sector, reflecting the nation's long-standing commitment to the "two unwavering principles" and highlighting the strategic consideration of leading innovation and boosting domestic demand by private enterprises in the new stage of high-quality development.
Qi Xiangdong, Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and Chairman of Qi An Xin, participated in the symposium. In a previous interview with First Financial News, he stated that private enterprises are a crucial link in enhancing the stability and competitiveness of the industrial and supply chains. They are adept at sensing changes in the market environment and play a significant role in tackling key core technologies and promoting the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. Additionally, private enterprises can expand overseas markets through international strategies, which in turn can feed back into domestic technological innovation, creating a "positive cycle" of market development and technological innovation. This has a substantial impact on overcoming key core technologies and facilitating the conversion of scientific and technological achievements.
Zheshang Securities research report points out that the high "concentration" of technology in attending enterprises also reflects the current industrial orientation. In recent years, among the global unicorn companies and the specialized and sophisticated "little giant" enterprises in China, private enterprises account for more than % and % respectively. Recently, private enterprises such as the "Six Little Dragons" in Hangzhou have shown great potential in technological innovation. In the future, decision-makers at various levels are expected to continue optimizing the business environment, reducing corporate operating costs, strengthening industry-university-research collaborative innovation relying on enterprises, and developing new quality productivity according to local conditions. Private enterprises will play a greater role in technological innovation.
From the key support measures clearly outlined in the symposium, the annual symposium mainly mentioned six measures including taxes and fees for private enterprises, financing, and fair competition. Following the symposium that year, various ministries and commissions introduced relevant policies to support private enterprises in tax reduction and fee cuts, as well as credit support. The annual private enterprise symposium proposed that "solidly implementing policy measures to promote the development of the private economy is the current focus of work to promote the development of the private economy," indicating that the implementation of earlier policies will be further accelerated.
Over the past two years, a series of policy measures to support the private economy have been intensively implemented. Relevant departments have successively issued documents such as "Opinions on Promoting the Development and Expansion of the Private Economy," "Notice on Further Promoting Private Investment Efforts to Stimulate Private Investment Enthusiasm," and "Notice on Implementing Several Measures to Promote the Recent Development of the Private Economy." These documents aim to enhance policy support from various aspects, including optimizing the development environment for the private economy, strengthening legal safeguards, promoting high-quality development, and fostering the healthy growth of private economic actors.
The symposium specifically mentioned advancing the fair opening of competitive sectors in infrastructure to various business entities, addressing the difficulties and high costs of financing, resolving the issue of unpaid debts to private enterprises, and strengthening law enforcement supervision to focus on rectifying the phenomenon of arbitrary charges. Teng Tai stated that these deployments, which are both grounded in the present and focused on the long term, not only respond to the practical concerns of market entities but also inject institutional momentum into the development of the private economy. They are bound to effectively boost development confidence and help consolidate the continuously improving fundamentals of the economy. Special emphasis was placed on implementing key measures such as equal use of factors, standardizing enterprise-related law enforcement, and rectifying the "four chaos" phenomena, thereby building institutional safeguards for the legitimate rights and interests of private enterprises.
It is worth mentioning that the legislative process for the private economy is accelerating. The 38th Chairperson's Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The meeting decided that the 14th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress will be held in Beijing from [specific dates]. Among the agenda items proposed by the Chairperson's Meeting for the 14th session of the Standing Committee is the review of the draft law on the promotion of the private economy.
Li Jin, the chief researcher at the China Enterprise Research Institute, told First Financial that before the National Two Sessions and the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the convening of this private enterprise symposium emphasized the vast prospects for the development of the private economy and the opportune moment for private enterprises and entrepreneurs to showcase their capabilities. This not only addressed the long-standing concerns of private entrepreneurs but also proposed encouragement and clarified supportive measures, with a firm tone and strong force, possibly heralding the arrival of spring for private enterprises in the context of Chinese-style modernization.
