President Xi Jinping on Monday called for efforts to promote the healthy and high-quality development of China's private sector.

He made the remarks when attending a symposium on private enterprises.

President Xi said the private sector enjoys broad prospects and great potential on the new journey in the new era, and it is a prime time for private enterprises and entrepreneurs to give full play to their capabilities.

He also called for efforts to reach consensus and firming up confidence, to promote the healthy and high-quality development of the private sector.

"We hope that all private enterprises and private entrepreneurs will have the ambition to serve the country, strive for development, operate in accordance with the law and promote common prosperity, so as to make new and greater contributions to promoting Chinese-style modernisation," Xi said.

He added that policies regarding the private sector would not change.

The president delivered the speech after listening to representatives of private companies at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang were among those attending the symposium, which was presided over by Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference chairman Wang Huning.

Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources, that Xi planned to chair a symposium to boost private sector sentiment, a meeting which would be attended by the country's business leaders, including Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma.

The symposium would be aimed at boosting private-sector sentiment, and Xi was expected to encourage company chiefs to expand their businesses domestically and internationally.

Xi first chaired a high-profile symposium for the private sector in 2018. At the time, he pledged tax cuts and a level playing field while reaffirming that private firms would have access to financial backing.

The symposium also comes as DeepSeek's AI platform has triggered investor speculation about its potential to buoy China's broader tech sector, leading to calls for an upward repricing of Chinese assets. (Xinhua & agencies)
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Last updated: 2025-02-17 HKT 20:28