In rare address, China’s president calls for new ties between officials and private firms
Xi Jinping’s speech is among the very few directions on clean politics to be addressed to the business community, instead of cadres
Chinese President Xi Jinping made a call on Friday for “new ties between politics and business”, encouraging officials to reach out to the private sector while keeping corruption at bay.
It was a rare address by the president on a sensitive topic. The relationship between the government and business has been complicated by persistent graft and collusion, fuelling public anger and hindering even legitimate interaction between the two sides. Xi’s campaign to root out graft has been blamed for partly contributing to the mainland’s slowing growth.
Xi made the comments at a joint panel meeting of the China Democratic National Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce – which both represent the private business sector in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
He offered reassurances that the authorities were committed to helping the private sector flourish, although Beijing would at the same time continue to maintain state firms’ significant role in the economy.
Xi told government officials and private businessmen their “new type” of relations should be “cosy” and “clean”.
“Leading officials should stay in touch with private enterprises ... and be proactive in helping them to solve their difficulties,” Xinhua quoted him as saying. “But officials must never attempt to take bribes using their power.”