A worker checks color-coated steel plates at the workshop of Shandong Xinmeida Technology Materials Co. Ltd. in Binzhou, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 26, 2025. Binzhou City is a major hub for private enterprises. In recent years, the city has fostered the development of private economy through comprehensive and end-to-end services. (Photo: Xinhua)

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planner, vowed on Wednesday to promote scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, ensure the independence and controllability of industrial chains, intensify efforts to address "involution-style" competition, and actively expand effective investment. 

It also noted efforts to improve the long-term mechanism for private enterprises to participate in major national projects, earnestly implement the private sector promotion law, strengthen research on major issues concerning the private economy and build up policy reserves, and foster closer government-enterprise collaboration to promote the healthy and high-quality development of the private economy.

Zheng Shanjie, head of the NDRC, made these remarks at a symposium with private enterprises on the occasion of the first anniversary of the implementation of the private sector promotion law, according to the NDRC's WeChat official account.

At the meeting, heads of five companies covering the sectors of metal smelting and processing, pharmaceutical research and development and manufacturing, water-saving irrigation and smart water conservancy, China-Europe Railway Express operations, and artificial intelligence (AI) agreed that since the implementation of the law, the guiding and safeguarding role of the rule of law has continued to get stronger, greatly encouraging and inspiring private enterprises. 

They noted that companies are experiencing a stronger sense of policy benefits, while digital-intelligence transformation and green development are creating new opportunities, resulting in even stronger momentum for innovation-driven growth, according to the NDRC.

A number of enterprises told the Global Times on Wednesday that during the past year, their confidence in development has noticeably strengthened, as the law has played a positive role in promoting fairness and supporting innovation.

"Over the past year, we have truly felt that the business environment for enterprises has been continuously improving in areas such as fair market competition, investment and financing facilitation, and rights protection," said Qi Xiangdong, a national political advisor and chairperson of cybersecurity company Qi-Anxin, in a statement sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.

Qi noted that last year, the company successfully registered to issue up to 2 billion yuan ($293.6 million) in sci-tech innovation bonds, further broadening its financing channels. 

"In the past, private technology companies frequently encountered various invisible barriers when issuing bonds or seeking credit support. The law, which supports qualified private economic entities to obtain direct financing through the issuance of stocks, bonds, and other instruments, has provided solid legal backing for breaking down financing barriers faced by private enterprises," said Qi. 

"Previously, when it came to large-language model tenders and the construction of critical information systems, we weren't sure whether private enterprises could even participate or could win if we did. Now it's different," said Liu Qingfeng, chairperson of Chinese tech giant iFlytek, in a statement sent to the Global Times on Wednesday. 

He noted that iFlytek ranked first in both the number and value of bids won in central state-owned enterprises' large-language model procurement tenders for two consecutive years. The private sector promotion law, along with national strategic direction, has provided private enterprises with a platform and the confidence to compete.

Xu Jiajia, CEO of Lingyang Industrial Internet Co, said in a statement sent to the Global Times that the provisions on scientific and technological innovation of the law have become a core driving force for enterprise development. Xu noted that the law explicitly supports private economic entities in taking the lead in undertaking major national technological research tasks, which "has enabled capable private enterprises with strong technological capabilities to upgrade their role from 'participants' to 'leaders'."

Leveraging the advantages of the policy, the company has deeply participated in national-level projects such as the AI platform of China Energy Investment Corp Co and PetroChina's Kunlun large-language model, Xu said, which supported the company to achieve remarkable results in areas such as power generation forecasting and intelligent inspection identification.

Hu Qimu, a professor at the Maritime Silk Road Institute of Huaqiao University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the private sector promotion law, as the country's first fundamental law dedicated to promoting the private sector, clearly states that China will support private enterprises at the institutional level, thereby boosting their confidence in sustained operations and stabilizing their expectations.

Hu noted that the law indeed provides private enterprises with tangible and substantial support in key areas such as fair competition and market access, investment and financing facilitation, and scientific and technological innovation.