Sichuan to lend a helping hand to private enterprises

Sichuan province has come out with 20 new policies to support the development of the private economy, said a top provincial official.

Peng Qinghua, secretary of the Sichuan provincial committee of the Communist Party of China, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that the policies include reducing private enterprises' energy cost and making it easier for them to raise funds from banks.

Sichuan is one of China's largest provinces in terms of technical available hydropower resources, which account for 22 percent of the country's total. Thanks to the ample hydropower resources which generate electricity, Sichuan is also rich in clean energy.

But the province has a relatively high cost of electricity and private enterprises are plagued with the problem, Peng said.

Sichuan will introduce reforms and market mechanisms to lower electricity prices for private enterprises in the industry and commerce sectors, Peng said.

The province will also take into consideration banks' support for private enterprises and the number of private enterprises that have raised funds from the banks, when performance of the banks is assessed, he said.

Sichuan's 20 new policies boosting the private sector were formulated following President Xi Jinping's recent speech on support for the sector. The speech, which has mobilized the authorities at different levels to support the sector, will be the driving force for the sustained development of the private sector in Sichuan, Peng said.

A delegation of Party and government officials from Sichuan recently visited Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces to learn how to create a sound business environment for the private sector.

On Nov 20, Sichuan held a video conference on the sound development of the private economy that commended 100 private entrepreneurs and 100 private enterprises. The meeting was attended by leading Party and government officials.

Sichuan's private economy started with the launching of private firms selling quail eggs and feed for pigs and fish after China launched the reform and opening-up in 1978.

In 2017, more than 50 percent of Sichuan's economic aggregate and taxes came from the private economy, Peng said.