China starts drafting bill to boost private sector and tackle sluggish post-Covid economy following major setbacks
- State media reports law aims to ‘implement equal treatment of state-owned and private enterprises’
- However, Beijing-based commercial lawyer says proposed bill appears to be ‘old wine in a new bottle’
The proposed bill, which debuted as the private economy promotion law, has been introduced into the lawmaking process by the country’s top legislature, the justice ministry and top economic planner, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said on Wednesday.
The private economy promotion law aims to “respond to enterprises’ concerns” and use legal measures to “effectively implement equal treatment of state-owned and private enterprises,” the justice ministry said.
Neither specific clauses nor the lawmaking timeline were made public by CCTV.
Analysts predicted it would not greatly improve China’s business environment and that no particularly innovative measures would come out of the bill.
The private economy promotion law will focus on protecting the property rights of private enterprises and the rights and interests of entrepreneurs, ensuring fair participation and access to market and fair treatment in judiciary systems, the state broadcaster said.
The bill will also address the concerns of private companies, such as managing overdue payments to small and medium-sized enterprises.