BEIJING, April 25 — China’s private sector saw robust industrial output growth in the first quarter of 2025, with its investment in manufacturing and innovation-driven development also accelerating.
The sector, constituting more than 90 percent of enterprises in the world’s second-largest economy, has forged ahead with steady expansion as the country reaffirms unswerving support for the sector’s growth amid challenges and difficulties.
In the latest episode of the China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency, guest speakers focused on the important messages from a high-level symposium on private enterprises held in February, sharing insights on the private sector’s challenges and opportunities. Their discussions also shed light on the sector’s broad development prospects and immense potential.
UNSWERVING SUPPORT FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR
Guest speaker Liu Min, deputy head of the private economy development bureau under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner, told Xinhua that China’s private sector has supported overall national economic growth with a solid performance in the first quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, the symposium — attended by top Chinese leaders and representatives of private enterprises — has demonstrated the firm determination of the Party and the country to promote the private sector’s development.
“A clear message from the meeting is that the importance of the private sector in the Chinese economy cannot and will not be changed,” according to guest speaker Zhu Min, a member of the Senior Expert Advisory Committee of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. He said the meeting has conveyed the message that full support from all levels of government is to be provided to promote the sector’s healthy development.
Official data shows that in the first quarter of 2025, the value-added industrial output of private enterprises increased 7.3 percent year on year, outpacing the growth rate of all industrial enterprises; private investment grew 0.4 percent year on year, shifting from a decline in 2024. Notably, private investment in the manufacturing sector grew by 9.7 percent. Meanwhile, the import and export volume of private enterprises rose 5.8 percent in the first quarter.
As a representative of private entrepreneurs who spoke at the symposium, Liu Yonghao, chairman of New Hope Group, a leading agricultural conglomerate in China, said at the roundtable that he felt deeply encouraged by the support the country has pledged for the private sector, saying that private firms must strive for new achievements by tapping into new quality productive forces and advanced technologies.
Tan Limin, chairman of Westwell, a Chinese tech firm engaged in AI applications and autonomous driving solutions, said the symposium has also shown the importance the government attaches to tech companies in the private sector, which would encourage private firms to continue with more investment in technological innovation.
PRIVATE ECONOMY EXPANDS AMID SUPPORTIVE MEASURES
Private enterprises in China continued to expand steadily in the first quarter of 2025 amid government efforts to spur growth in both the private sector and the broader economy. Newly established private firms numbered nearly 2 million during the period, marking an increase of 7.1 percent year on year, official data showed.
Over 40 percent of the newly established private firms during the January-March period were related to new technologies, products, business forms and models, the data showed. Currently, private enterprises contribute 70 percent of technological innovation in the country.
Liu Min said the government has intensified efforts to strengthen and optimize the supervision mechanism related to administrative charges levied on enterprises, address overdue payments owed to private enterprises, and continue efforts to ensure fair private sector access to competitive infrastructure and major national scientific research facilities. The government on Thursday published a new version of the market access negative list, which further reduced the number of items on the list from 117 to 106, a decrease of 11 items.
“Legislative work regarding the private economy promotion law is being accelerated, with the draft law expected to be submitted to lawmakers for a third reading,” she said. The proposed legislation, set to become China’s first fundamental law dedicated to the private sector, explicitly defines the private sector as a vital pillar of China’s socialist market economy, with observers expecting it to boost entrepreneurial confidence and encourage long-term investment.
Zhu said that Chinese private enterprises are highly competitive. He observed that over the past few years, Chinese private enterprises have sought to reduce costs and improve quality, with their share in the country’s total import and export volume having increased to over 56 percent, demonstrating resilience.
However, in the face of high tariffs, it is important that the country offer multi-pronged support for private enterprises through boosting domestic demand and providing financing support to help them navigate the challenge, said the economist.
BROAD DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS
Guest speakers have voiced optimism in the Chinese private sector’s development prospects, believing that the huge Chinese market with over 1.4 billion people represents ample business opportunities for private enterprises.
Liu Min said that Chinese private enterprises are stepping up technological and industrial innovation efforts, as traditional industries are steadily evolving to high-end, intelligent and green, and strategic emerging industries such as AI, embodied robotics, commercial aerospace, and biomedicine, as well as the cultural sector, are thriving.
Liu Yonghao said there is great potential for traditional industries to upgrade by developing new quality productive forces. He gave an example of his firm’s investment in digitization and smart technologies applied in cold chain logistics, which have greatly helped protect the quality of perishable food products and mitigate waste. He made the company a leader in this business segment in the country.
Tan of Westwell said that by sticking to technological innovation for a decade, his company’s AI and autonomous driving technologies and solutions have entered the markets in 28 countries and regions, helping revolutionize container logistics with its AI-empowered digital and intelligent services.
According to Zhu, over the past 40-plus years, China’s private enterprises have grown rapidly, and there will be great opportunities in areas such as AI software development, new manufacturing, green development, and the service industry going forward. “I am very optimistic about the prospects of Chinese private enterprises.” (Xinhua)
