An employee produces LED string lights at an intelligent workshop of a company in Nanfeng county, East China's Jiangxi Province on June 4, 2025. In recent years, the county has regarded the private economy as a key pillar for promoting local economic development, vigorously supporting technological innovation to foster the development of new quality productive forces. Photo: VCG

The General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued a notice on Monday regarding measures for using metrology to promote the growth of the private economy, underscoring another effort by government departments to support development of private enterprises.

The measures aim to effectively leverage metrology as a fundamental support to enhance the quality, efficiency, innovation capacity, and market competitiveness of private economic entities, and to help drive the high-quality development of the private economy.

The notice emphasizes support for scientific research and innovation. It encourages capable private economic organizations to undertake metrology-related technological innovation tasks, promotes the research and application of common metrology digital technologies, and facilitates the opening-up and transfer of metrology research achievements to private economic organizations.

Focusing on cutting-edge technological innovation and industrial development, the measures will actively support capable private economic organizations in undertaking key projects that use metrology to enhance new types of industrial productivity.

Corresponding support will be given to private enterprises in key industries in addressing metrology-related challenges in production processes, quality control, and scientific research, thereby contributing to improved product quality, according to the SAMR.

In addition, the notice stated that private economic organizations with the necessary capabilities are encouraged to participate in the construction of industrial metrology testing centers, enhancing their advanced measurement capabilities.

Supporting metrology "going global" is another highlight of the measures. According to the notice, authorities will closely monitor relevant foreign policy developments and strengthen metrology support for private economic organizations engaged in exports.

In addition, the SAMR said that talent development will be strengthened. Higher education institutions, research institutes, and various professional skills training organizations are encouraged to cooperate with private economic organizations to cultivate personnel with metrology skills for the private sector.

The measures once again highlight the government's efforts to promote the development of the private economy, with scientific advancement at its core, Li Changan, a professor with the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Monday.

"Metrology is a crucial tool for achieving standardization and uniformity, and it provides a key foundation for scientific development," Li said, noting that applying metrology to support the private economy essentially means establishing scientific measurement standards to regulate industry practices, product standards, and related processes.

"This plays a vital role in integrating a unified national market and standardizing private economic activities," Li noted.

China's private economy has been expanding significantly. As of the end of January 2025, the country had 56.707 million private enterprises, 5.2 times the number in 2012, according to the Xinhua News Agency, citing data from the SAMR.

Among national high-tech enterprises, the number of private companies grew from 28,000 in 2012 to more than 420,000, with their share rising from 62.4 percent to more than 92 percent.