Chen Yongjie, one of the main authors of the report, said private companies must be given a level playing field promised to them in terms of market access, financing and tax policies.

Chen said he believed that a group of conglomerates competitive in both local and global markets would emerge in the private sector by 2010.

"Some of them will join the ranks of the Global 500," he forecast.

Other key findings

Job opportunities generated by private firms in urban areas rose from 150 million in 2000 to 207 million last year while State-owned companies cut 15 million jobs in the period.

Annual investment by private firms almost quadrupled from 1.38 trillion yuan (US$166.34 billion ) in 2000 to 5.32 trillion yuan (US$664.9 billion) last year, posting an average annual growth of 29 per cent.

Beijing ranks first in the growth of the number of private investors. The capital had 638,605 last year, an annual increase of 127 per cent since 2000.

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