China seeks public feedback on challenges to building up private sector economy
- The State Council is seeking comment on 10 areas where the private sector may face barriers to operating effectively
- The authorities are looking for ways to boost private businesses as they look to put the economy back on track after the Covid-19 pandemic
China’s State Council, the country’s cabinet, has asked for public feedback about factors that hinder private companies as part of its efforts to shore up a sector it views as crucial for the post-Covid recovery.
The State Council has sought public comment on 10 areas where it could “resolve challenges and problems in the process of building up the private sector economy” and promised to investigate and correct common complaints from the private sector.
The proposals highlight problems such as red tape, market entry thresholds, fair competition, protectionism by local governments, payments default, financing and legal support, as well as intellectual property rights.
The government will go through different channels to reach the grass roots which can allow it to deal with difficulties straightforwardly
Zhao Xijun, associate dean at Renmin University’s school of finance, said regular communication between the government and the private sector would help policymakers tackle problems effectively.
“There are state-owned assets supervision and administration commissions at the central and local levels to link up state-owned enterprises and policymakers, but the private sector doesn’t have this mechanism,” he explained.
“Therefore, the government will go through different channels to reach the grass roots which can allow it to deal with difficulties straightforwardly.”