Change of mindset fits into market economy

China's reform experience of the past 30 years tells me that real reform should be a shift in paradigm. Some people argue the government should play a bigger role helping the market mature, however in the context of China, the market cannot grow healthily if the government always keeps tight control of it. Effective macro-control, a legal duty of the government, is different from arbitrary interference, which stems from vested interests.

The reform started by late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping created space for businesspeople from home and abroad. Now, the space needs to be regulated and ruled by law, instead of by the power of the government.

Deng Xiaoping removed the conceptual obstacles, now President Xi Jinping is removing the institutional ones.

Relations between the government and enterprises have been continuously adjusting in the direction of a healthy and modern market during the course of reforms. Now the removal of the historical institutional and conceptual obstacles should be a characteristic of the "new normal" of the Chinese economy.

That the central authority has abolished and delegated to lower departments hundreds of administrative approvals in the last two years indicates the government realizes it cannot have a dominant hand on the market anymore. The government should continue to restrict its power within clearly marked borders that distinguish the government, the market and society. The "negative list" model piloted by China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone since last year is a positive beginning.

Reform has become an interactive engagement between different interest groups. As China continues its economic transformation, Chinese entrepreneurs should also make good use of their power in business and industries to influence the ongoing reform.

In light of the practical national conditions, the way China builds its market economy can have Chinese characteristics, but it should bear all the general characteristics of the market economy in the common sense, China's integration into the global market system should be a process of adjusting itself to international conventions.

Private enterprises do not need the government's preferential policies. We only need an environment for fair competition. The main difficulty for private enterprises in China today lies in some basic institutions and laws.

There needs to be a developed legal environment to allow private enterprises to defend their legal interests, including against any abuse of government power in the name of macro-control.

The author is president of Kailong Hi-Tech Co Ltd in Wuxi of Jiangsu province.