CBN丨Chinese authorities pledge wider market access for private sector after key symposium

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

Coming up on today’s program

• The NDRC vows to widen market access for the private sector after a high-profile symposium held in Beijing;
• China's NEV output and sales surged in January.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours

China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), on Tuesday pledged to further remove market access barriers and revise the market access negative list for private enterprises in a timely manner, in a bid to accelerate the development of the private economy.

The new moves aim to encourage greater private sector participation in major national projects and programs, including those aligned with major national strategies, building up security capacity in key areas, as well as the large-scale renewal of equipment and the trade-in of consumer goods.

The announcement came after a top-level symposium on Monday on private enterprises in Beijing attended by representatives of private entrepreneurs. The symposium called on promoting the healthy and high-quality development of the country's private sector.

Huawei Technologies' Ren Zhengfei, BYD's Wang Chuanfu, New Hope Group's Liu Yonghao, Will Semiconductor's Yu Renrong, Unitree Robotics' Wang Xingxing, and Xiaomi's Lei Jun were among the private entrepreneurs attending the symposium. Representatives from CATL, Chint Group, Alibaba Group Holding, and DeepSeek were also present.

The proportion of technology entrepreneurs has increased at this symposium compared with the one in 2018, as the position of the tech sector in the industrial ecosystem advanced, said Zhang Jun, chief economist at China Galaxy Securities.

This shift reflects a stronger push toward high-end technology, acknowledges the breakthroughs made by private enterprises in areas related to new-quality productive forces, and highlights the policy support for technological innovation, Zhang noted.

Official data has revealed that the share of private enterprises among all high-tech enterprises in the country has increased to more than 92 percent.

In addition, the NDRC stated that it will implement targeted measures to address the concerns raised by private enterprises, and provide them with effective support.

In October 2024, the country published a highly-anticipated draft law on private sector promotion to solicit public opinion, which will be reviewed by the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress at its upcoming 14th session to be convened in late February.

Greater Bay Area, Greater future

• A group of US tourists has departed from Los Angles to embark on a first-ever themed trip to China's Greater Bay Area (GBA), during which they will experience a "technologically advanced, safe and open, and vibrant and beautiful" China firsthand. The group was taking an Air China flight. The tourists are traveling to Beijing, Shenzhen, as well as Hong Kong and Macao. The themed trip is a new product launched by the Los Angeles Office of the China National Tourist Office and the US Tour Operators Association, following the rollout of the "Hello! China" tourism promotion project launched by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
• Tencent has donated 500 million yuan to the National Natural Science Foundation of China to fund basic research projects of young doctoral students. The funds will mainly go to female researchers, as well as those resident in West China and the Greater Bay Area.
• The public debut of Hong Kong’s first locally-born giant panda twins on Sunday drew a record-breaking crowd of 5,000 visitors to Ocean Park. The park plans to extend visiting hours and introduce additional panda-themed activities in the near future to take advantage of the current wave of enthusiasm.

Next on industry and company news

• China's new energy vehicles (NEVs) performed strongly, with production surging 29 percent year on year to 1.02 million units in January, industry data showed on Monday. NEV sales grew rapidly by 29.4 percent year on year to 944,000 units in January -- accounting for 38.9 percent of total new vehicle sales last month. Total passenger car output reached 2.15 million units last month, up 3.3 percent year on year, while sales grew 0.8 percent year on year to top 2.13 million units. Meanwhile, China's auto exports rose 6.1 percent year on year last month, totaling 470,000 units in January.
• Xiaomi Auto's second model, the YU7, will come with two battery packs of 96.3 kWh and 101.7 kWh, for a maximum CLTC range of 820 km, according to information released by the MIIT. The electric SUV is expected to hit the market in June.
• Geely Holding and Renault have teamed up to jointly produce and sell zero- and low-emission vehicles in Brazil through Renault do Brasil, the Chinese and French carmakers announced yesterday.
• Chinese e-commerce giant JD.Com recently launched a car-hailing service, integrating several third-party providers, including Caocao and Feidi. Users can search for ‘ride-hailing’ on the homepage of JD.Com’s app to access the service, which includes real-time, scheduled, and airport pickup options.

Switching gears to financial news

• A total of 12 fund management firms on Monday started the issuance of STAR Market Composite Index exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and STAR Market Composite Price Return Index ETFs, supporting the development of new quality productive forces with additional capital inflows.

Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market

• Chinese stocks fell on Tuesday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite dipped 0.9 percent and the Shenzhen Component lost 1.6 percent. While Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended 1.6 percent higher, and the TECH index rallied 2.5 percent.

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

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