China's market economy is defying speculation from some Western countries, continuing its robust growth and attracting global investors.
The annual Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing from December 11 to 12 saw Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasize high-quality development as the top priority for 2025. His speech highlighted the need for deeper reforms, advancing high-standard opening-up, and supporting private enterprise growth to foster a world-class, market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment.
Despite challenges in the global economic landscape, China's efforts to optimize the business environment have been widely recognized internationally. CEOWORLD magazine ranked the Chinese mainland 34th among the best countries to invest in or do business for 2024. This assessment considered 11 key indicators, including the level of corruption, degrees of freedom, tax system rationality, and quality of life. China's continuous improvements have created a stable, transparent, and predictable investment environment for global investors and entrepreneurs.
Domestically, China is streamlining administration, delegating powers, and improving regulations to simplify the approval process, reduce the cost of starting a business, optimize market supervision, and make it easier for business entities to register. As of September 2024, there were over 180 million private economic entities in China, accounting for 96.37% of all business entities—a year-on-year growth of 3.93% and more than quadruple growth over the past decade.
Among these, there were 55.5 million private enterprises, up 6.02% year-on-year, and 125.3 million individual businesses, a 3.03% increase. These figures demonstrate significant improvements in China's business environment and the full release of market vitality.
The private economy is a cornerstone of China's market structure, playing an irreplaceable role in promoting economic growth, employment, and optimizing industrial structures. In industries such as wholesale and retail, private businesses account for a staggering 97.97% of operations, reflecting China's vibrant commodity market and the crucial link between production and consumption.
China remains committed to the development of the private economy, ensuring equal protection for all types of economic entities under the law. By making it easier for private economic operators to register and increasing their proportion, China is fully unleashing the market's potential and fostering sustained economic growth.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
