Didi Chuxing Photo:Weibo

On Monday afternoon, Didi issued a statement saying that with the approval of the Cybersecurity  Review Office, new user registration on "Didi Chuxing" will resume immediately. The statement also said that the company has carried out a comprehensive rectification on the security issues found in the review, and will take effective measures to ensure platform safety and data security, as well as safeguard national cyberspace security. After 18 months of rectification, the resumption of Didi Chuxing has quickly aroused great attention from all parties. As a "typical case" of strengthening effective supervision on capital, Didi has plugged the security loopholes, completed the rectification and relaunched new user registration which is undoubtedly good news from any angle and aspect.

The rapid development of the digital economy in recent years has aroused people's concerns about the "barbaric growth" of capital. How to promote the healthy and orderly development of the entire industry and finally promote the win-win pattern has become a major problem that needs to be solved urgently. In mid-2021, there were problems with Didi in supervision on the company because of loopholes in its personal data privacy protection. In fact, at that time, whether there was excessive collection and abuse of personal data by major internet platforms including Didi aroused widespread concern. Initiating a review of Didi to prevent loopholes from getting bigger and bigger is very necessary for national security, personal safety of users, and Didi's own long-term development.   

Of course, in this process, there are also some intentional or unintentional misinterpretations. When Didi was asked to rectify, many Western commentators poured dirty water on China accusing the country of "cracking down on" private companies. And after Didi announced its re-launch, they immediately declared that this meant the Chinese government's "internet crackdown may be coming to an end." Both of these views are wrong. They were either talking about China's governance as a lay person or they were deliberately misleading people. Indeed, they affected some people.

The relaunch of Didi shows that curbing capital's disorderly expansion is precisely to allow it to develop in an orderly and sustainable manner. China's regulation is by no means to "crack down on" any company, let alone sacrifice efficiency. 

In fact, even during the review, Didi's normal operation has never been interrupted. Previously, due to safety and other factors, the new registration was stopped, and now the registration will be resumed immediately after the rectification is completed. This once again shows that supervision is to "cure the disease and save the patient," allowing enterprises to go further and more steadily, rather than cutting off their development. Whether Didi is "off" or "on" the shelf, the logic and goodwill are consistent.

Needless to say, the development of the private economy has encountered some difficulties in recent years. Factors including the impact of the pandemic, as well as the influence of the global economic downturn, have in a certain extent weakened the confidence of private enterprises in their development expectations. 

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the annual Central Economic Work Conference both clearly emphasized the adherence to China's policy of unswervingly consolidating and developing the public sector and unswervingly encouraging, supporting and guiding the development of non-public sector, which is a clear and unambiguous attitude. This fully affirms the important role and contribution of the private economy in driving employment, promoting innovation, and stimulating market vitality, and once again clearly declares China's firm determination to vigorously promote the development and growth of the private economy. No matter how the external environment changes, this determination will not change. It will be persistent and transformed into an inexhaustible driving force to support the growth of private enterprises.

This determination is palpable. On January 13, China's central bank announced that 14 large platform companies such as Ant Group completed their rectification. In the future, financial support measures will be formulated to promote the healthy development of the platform economy under normalized supervision. 

China's National Development and Reform Commission has also stated that it will release a number of "green light" investment cases to regulate and guide the healthy development of capital and prevent the introduction of policies and measures that would affect the enthusiasm of private investment. 

Meanwhile, government departments in many places are also planning to introduce more detailed support policies to encourage the platform economy to develop healthily. A clear, stable, and predictable regulatory environment, and a policy atmosphere that encourages private entrepreneurs to explore and venture, will release enormous energy.