China’s private sector difficulties ‘can be overcome’, Xi tells leading entrepreneurs
The Chinese president’s first high-level symposium with business heads since 2018 is seen as a major show of support for the country’s private sector
President Xi Jinping on Monday assured China’s leading entrepreneurs of persistent government support as the world’s second-largest economy is facing greater external headwinds.
He also urged them to contribute more to the country’s tech innovation amid an intensifying rivalry with the United States, while promising more protection for entrepreneurial interests and wider market access.
The symposium, the first of its kind to be hosted by Xi since 2018, came amid a severe ebb in private sector morale prompted by a volatile mix of economic issues, including heightened geopolitical tensions with the US and harsh regulatory crackdowns on some of China’s corporate giants.
It is the right time for private enterprises and entrepreneurs to showcase their talents and make significant contributions, he was quoted as saying.
“Difficulties and challenges facing the private economy largely emerged in reform and industrial upgrades … They are temporary, not long-term ones. They can be overcome,” Xi said at the high-level symposium with executives of leading companies in Beijing, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Confidence among entrepreneurs and investors in China has been muted amid a sluggish domestic economic recovery, worsening geopolitical tensions with the US and earlier regulatory crackdowns on some of the country’s corporate giants in the name of addressing monopolistic behaviour.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping holds rare meeting with China’s tech leaders amid US tech rivalry