China will fine-tune policy to boost private sector support, official at state think tank linked to planning body says

Name: China's slow road to economic recovery after dropping its zero-Covid policies
Uploaded: 2023-02-24T11:49:08.000Z
Duration: 4 min 43 s
Description: China's slow road to economic recovery after dropping its zero-Covid policies

Article by deputy director of Xi Jinping Economic Thought Research Centre comes days ahead of legislative session expected to reveal policy direction

The top leadership is focusing on the private sector in a bid to revive China’s Covid-hit economy, after an earlier crackdown soured public opinion

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Call for tax cuts, easier market access and a positive public attitude towards private firms is part of a bid to “improve the environment” for their development. Photo: Bloomberg

Jane Caiin Beijing

Published: 7:49pm, 24 Feb 2023

China will fine-tune policies and “guide public opinion” to create a supportive environment for the private economy, a high-ranking official at a state think tank has said, days before the national legislature convenes for its annual session in Beijing.

The comments from Huang Weiting, deputy director of the Xi Jinping Economic Thought Research Centre, came as he rallied for both institutional and popular backing for the private sector in an article for an official journal of China’s ruling Communist Party.

Huang urged tax relief, easier market access and a positive public attitude towards private firms and entrepreneurs to carry through the spirit of the top leadership, harking back to President Xi Jinping’s call to “improve the environment for the development of private companies” in his report to the 20th party congress in October.

The article by Huang – whose think tank is affiliated with top planning body the National Development and Reform Commission – appeared on Wednesday in the Study Times, a Central Party School publication.

It came just over a week ahead of this year’s “two sessions”, key annual meetings of China’s top legislative and political advisory bodies that reveal plans for the latest economic, social, military, trade and other policies.

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China's slow road to economic recovery after dropping its zero-Covid policies

Addressing the annual economic work conference in December, Xi had highlighted the importance of the private sector for economic growth, job creation, government revenue, technology and innovation.

He said China would revise rules and regulations to reduce market entry barriers and encourage local governments to serve private firms better, according to remarks published last week by Qiushi – another party school publication and backed by the party’s Central Committee.

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