China supports private firms in sci-tech research pursuing quality growth

CHENGDU, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) — China will support capable private enterprises in leading national initiatives to make breakthroughs in major technologies and provide private enterprises with greater access to major national scientific research infrastructure, according to the country’s top economic planner.
The country will also support basic research in diversified fields and guide eligible private enterprises to conduct high-risk, high-reward basic research, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Thursday at a meeting on promoting high-quality development of the private sector held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
This is the latest effort by Chinese authorities to boost the private sector, which is vital to stabilizing economic growth, promoting innovation and boosting employment.
Zheng Bei, deputy head of the NDRC, called for more concrete efforts to promote the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation to further promote high-quality development in the private sector.
Zheng said China supports private companies’ active participation in implementing major national strategies and building security capacity in key areas, as well as in large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-ins of consumer goods.
China will also improve policy support and market services to promote the application and upgrading of domestically developed products, Zheng said.
Meanwhile, the country will further improve support policies for long-term capital investment in early-stage, small-scale and high-tech projects to unleash more innovation potential on the part of private enterprises, the official added.
Representatives from enterprises in a variety of sectors, including new materials, aerospace, agriculture, robotics, communications, biopharmaceuticals, energy, environmental protection, finance, manufacturing, and the Internet of Things attended the meeting.
ZOOM SOLAR Green Energy Technology, a photovoltaic company based in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, was one of the attendees.
Looking ahead, Ding Ye, a senior executive of ZOOM SOLAR, expressed optimism that, with the support of these new policies, the company is well-positioned to secure further investments and financing crucial for driving innovation and future growth.
ZOOM SOLAR has been included in an initiative in Shaanxi Province that aims to break bottlenecks for key industrial chains and boost the industrialization of core technologies in key fields.
The private economy plays an important role in China’s economic development as it contributes over 50 percent of the country’s tax revenue, more than 60 percent of gross domestic product, in excess of 70 percent of technological innovation, and creates over 80 percent of urban jobs.
Earlier this month, China’s Ministry of Justice and the NDRC published a draft of a private sector promotion law to solicit public opinion.
The draft, with 77 articles in nine chapters, features equal treatment and protection of private sector businesses. If passed, it will be China’s first foundational law specifically focused on the development of the private economy. ■