A view of Hikvision's stand during the Shanghai Security Expo held in May. Photo: VCG

Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting with entrepreneurs in the country on Tuesday, urging efforts to stimulate the vitality of market entities, promoting entrepreneurship, and of "doing everything possible" to protect market players under unprecedented pressure caused by the pandemic.

According to a report from CCTV, Xi expressed heartfelt gratitude to state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, foreign-funded enterprises, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-funded enterprises and individual industrial and commercial household businesses for their contributions to epidemic prevention and control, and economic and social development in the country.

Xi emphasized that since reform and opening-up, China has gradually established and continuously improved the socialist market economic system, which has continued to develop, and various market entities have grown vigorously. The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on China's economy and the global economy, and many market players in the country are facing unprecedented pressure. 

"We must do everything possible to protect market players, stimulate their vitality, promote entrepreneurship, promote enterprises to play a greater role and achieve greater development and accumulate basic forces for economic development," Xi said.

Xi's cheering words signal strong confidence in the reviving Chinese economy and the country's resolute commitment to opening-up and to treating all foreign and domestic enterprises equally, despite the rising tide of US-led unilateralism, experts said.

"The president is obviously injecting confidence for all types of businesses in China, and stabilizing market sentiment amid the unstable external environment," Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Amid the US' increasing unilateral policy that will only drag the world into a further economic slowdown, President Xi is sending a reassuring signal that, despite the US pressure, China will open further to all firms alike, and keep on the path of peaceful development," Cong said. 

President Xi stressed the need to create a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment. And China will comprehensively implement the "negative list" system for foreign investment and enforce the foreign investment law.

Entrepreneurs attending the meeting included Chen Zongnian, Chairman of Hikvision, Ning Gaoning, chairman of Sinochem and Huang Li, chairman of Guide Infrared and others, who voiced advice over the current economic situation, technological innovation and talent attraction.

Video surveillance company Hikvision was placed on a US trade blacklist last year over so-called national security concerns together with Huawei Technologies. 

"Xi's words are also an encouragement to those Chinese firms who face extreme pressure because of the US' relentless crackdown, convincing them that the stable recovery of China's economy will be the big boost for their journey to go ahead despite the headwinds," an insider told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Xi noted that China should concentrate on "bettering its own affairs" amid rising protectionism, a chilling economic downturn and shrinking global market. The country will not close its doors but rather utilize the sheer size of its domestic market and better connect it with the global market to achieve robust and sustainable economic growth. 

"As the first major economy to recover from the pandemic, the Chinese economy is gaining impetus and still has much potential to expand, and it will inject fresh momentum to the world's economic growth," Cong said.