Fresh impetus for China's private sector

Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said: "More importantly, private enterprises stood undoubtedly at the forefront of technological innovations and the digital economy in recent years, especially in fields like new energy, information, communication, biopharmaceuticals and AI.

"Thus, the country's latest call to enhance the long-term mechanism for private companies to participate in major national projects will greatly shore up confidence and drive their passion for more technological innovations."

Wang also said the call acquires added significance amid rising geopolitical tensions, as the United States and the European Union seek to suppress China's rising prowess in emerging sectors like chips and new energy.

Earlier, Chinese authorities had identified a group of major scientific and technological areas that private enterprises can take a lead in, like industrial software, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, industrial internet, gene and cell medicine, and new energy storage.

Su Meng, chairman and CEO of Beijing Percent Technology Group Co, a leading private-sector provider of data science products, said eligibility criteria for companies to participate in major national projects used to be relatively high. "Many private enterprises usually found it hard to meet all those criteria," he said.

"With the latest efforts, private enterprises are expected to have more opportunities to contribute to major national science and technology projects and make more innovations on a global scale."

The latest efforts in this direction are, in fact, a follow-up on recent steps like a series of supportive policies to guide the private sector, experts said.

The National Development and Reform Commission, the nation's top economic regulator, unveiled in July last year a major guideline to guide the private sector. It also set up a special private sector development bureau in September to offer targeted support for private firms.

Recent years saw increasing number of private companies playing a role in major infrastructure projects in transportation, water conservancy and railways.

Thanks to such efforts, Chongqing One-Tale Electric Co Ltd has received special support from the NDRC to establish a sensor technology service platform, said Tian Yongchao, head of research and development at the company, a private-sector provider of electrical equipment.

"After the platform's completion in June next year, it is expected to help improve the sensor industry chain in Chongqing and Southwestern China as a whole."

Song Xiangqing, a professor of government management at Beijing Normal University, said that from now on, private companies are expected to have more opportunities to play a big role in major national projects related to infrastructure, new urbanization, transportation and hydraulic engineering.

"The government wants to remove those barriers that hinder the development of private-sector enterprises and to enable them to participate in market competition at a higher level and in a larger field. It would activate the intrinsic ability of private-sector enterprises to innovate and become more competitive on the global stage," Song said.