Private firms continue to play stabilizing role in underpinning employment in China: report

China's private enterprises registered a sound performance in corporate social responsibility in 2023, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing a report from the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Private companies played a more important role in promoting employment, ensuring payments, implementing worker rights protection and promoting better relations between employers and employees.

The report, which surveyed 13,885 firms in China, showed that the top 1,000 private companies had invested a combined 1.39 trillion yuan ($190.48 billion) in research and development in 2023, a year-on-year growth of 12.7 percent, and highlighting their roles in fostering sci-tech innovation and promoting green development.

Private companies accounted for 95 percent of all specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises that produce new and unique products in the nation.

There were more than 53 million private firms in China in 2023, accounting for 92.3 percent of companies registered in the country, providing over 90 percent of new urban jobs of the year.

Earlier this year, China announced that it had started drafting a law concerning the promotion of its private economy. The draft law was submitted on Saturday to the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress for preliminary review. 

The draft includes provisions on ensuring private businesses' fair participation and competition in the market, improving the investment and financing environment, and supporting their technological innovations.

The recently concluded Central Economic Work Conference has made new, important arrangements for the private economy, according to a Xinhua report in mid-December, citing an official from the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs.

The country will support capable private enterprises to take the lead in major national technological research tasks, as well as formulating guidelines for a unified national market to optimize market access in new business forms and new fields, according to the official. 

As of the end of September, China had over 55 million registered private companies.