Non-public businesses find new zeal for further development

Private entrepreneurs in Sichuan province have welcomed President Xi Jinping's recent speech on supporting the non-public sector and are determined to seize the opportunity for high-quality development.

"We are reassured by President Xi's speech on more support for private enterprises," said Guo Xueqing, vice-president of market growth at Chengdu Xgimi Technology Co Ltd, a smart projector designer and manufacturer.

She said that her company is more confident about expanding at home and abroad with central government support.

"The speech has inspired private technology companies like Xgimi to focus on innovation and take the lead in global competition," Guo said, adding that her company has broken the dominance of foreign brands in Chinese market in the past few years.

Established in 2013 in the Chengdu High-Tech Zone, the company has the largest market share in China's smart projection market, and its products are sold in 38 countries and regions around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France and Brazil.

Zhang Cirui, CEO of Lettin, a Chengdu-based start-up company providing smart lighting products and services, said that Xi's speech has given his company a clearer sense of the future.

"There is no doubt that the diversity of private enterprises will inject tremendous vitality into the national economy," he said, adding that government support will unleash the full potential of start-up companies, and thus enhance China's brand and technical strengths.

Zhang said he was pleased to see the government's efforts to cut taxes and fees, and reduce bank loan interest rates for non-public enterprises.

In his speech, Xi introduced six measures to support non-public enterprises, including easing the tax burden, resolving difficulties in borrowing money, building a fairer environment for competition, and safeguarding private enterprises and their wealth.

Li Guangjin, former vice-president of the Sichuan Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, hailed the speech as necessary and timely, since some private entrepreneurs had expressed concerns over the future direction of the private sector.

He said that the private economy plays a significant role in China's socioeconomic development, and to achieve the two centenary goals of building a moderately prosperous society by 2020, and a great, modern, socialist country by 2050, a more prosperous private economy is indispensable.

To fully release the vitality of private enterprises, Li suggested that the government spare no efforts to create and maintain a fair and transparent business environment.

"Let the market play a decisive role in resource allocation, and encourage the enterprises to develop and compete freely in a legal environment," he said.

Yu Jianwei, dean of the Institute of Economic Development at Sichuan University, said that the authorities should take the chance to conduct in-depth investigations on the problems hindering the development of private enterprises, and carry out a package of long-term policies and measures to truly solve them.

"Capital is to a company what blood is to a man. Private enterprises, especially those in the growth period, cannot function well without enough financial support," Yu added.

Peng Chao contributed to the story.