Private power

Chinese entrepreneurs focus on innovation, reshape growth priorities to offset rough headwinds

It is that time of the year when there is high tension in the air, considering that businesses are finalizing their annual figures and discussing the way forward. Though trade undercurrents from Europe and the US have been frosty, policymakers in Beijing have more than enough reason to rejoice as the success of some private enterprises in overseas markets has managed to ward off some of the chill.

Though the recent tirades in the US and Europe against Chinese telecom equipment and solar panel makers are clear indications that the private sector is not immune to external threats, the determination of the companies to press ahead with their global plans indicates that private entrepreneurship in China is blossoming, thriving and moving on to newer markets and regions.

The robustness was more than evident when China zoomed past Japan in the latest Fortune Global 500 rankings to occupy the second slot with 73 companies on the list. Although the majority of Chinese companies on the list continued to be State-owned companies, private enterprises are slowly catching up. Five Chinese private companies are present in the rankings this year, compared with three in 2011.

Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd was the highest ranked Chinese private enterprise on the list at 242nd, a considerable jump from its 2011 ranking of 328th. Huawei, the telecom gear maker, was ranked 351st while Jiangsu Shagang Group, the largest domestic private steelmaker by sales, came in at 346th.

Textile company Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group at 440th and automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group at 475th were the debutants in this year's rankings.

"Although China's overall economic growth rate has been slowing, it is still an important contributor to global economic recovery despite sluggish international trade," says Yang Wei, vice-president for China operations at global consulting firm Accenture.

"If China's economy can realize its growth target of 7 percent and above in the consequent years, Chinese companies will easily overtake their US peers in the Fortune 500 rankings by 2025, while private companies will account for over one-third of the Chinese companies on the list," says Lu Jinyong, director of the China Research Center for Foreign Investment at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.