Experts urge government to support private sector

Chinese experts have called on authorities to beef up support for the country's private sector amid a nationwide campaign to deepen reforms.

The private sector has grown from nothing to a necessity in China since the launch of its reform and opening-up drive more than three decades ago, Wang Yuanzhi, executive director of the All China Private Enterprises Federation, told Xinhua.

He said development of the non-public economy should not be a temporary fix for China, but a long-term strategy.

"Supporting the non-public economy remains a key task of China's current national campaign to deepen reforms," he said. "The reforms will most definitely buttress China's private sector and vice versa."

His comments came days after Chinese top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng called for an end to rules shackling private businesses and increased support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Speaking during an inspection tour of central China's Hubei Province, Yu urged private firms to focus on innovation, nurture creative talent, increase core competitiveness and take the lead in emerging industries such as new energy and environmental protection.

He also called for further cooperation between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private ones.

China has more than 12 million private companies and 44.36 million individual businesses, which contribute the bulk of the country's economic performance.

According to the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, private business accounted for over 60 percent of the total gross domestic product in China last year.

A communique issued after the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee last year said that China would ensure that public ownership retains its leading role in the state-owned economy. However, it noted, the country will also support the private sector in order to make it more creative.

Wang Yuanzhi also noted that China's economic success was attributable to both the public and non-public sectors, and that there is huge potential for cooperation between state-owned and private enterprises.

"Some say it is like a tug-of-war: either the SOEs win and private companies retreat, or the other way around. But I don't see it that way," said Wang. "There is great room for cooperation."

His words were echoed by Zhu Andong, an associate professor with the School of Marxism at Tsinghua University.

Zhu said SOEs play a bigger role in key industries and boast more advanced technology, while private companies are more innovative, more market-driven, and more adaptable.

"There is more room for cooperation rather than just rivalry between SOEs and private companies," he said, comparing SOEs to an aircraft carrier and private companies to its escort vessels.