China unveils landmark draft law to boost private sector

China

China unveils landmark draft law to boost private sector

2024-10-12 21:49 Last Updated At：10-13 00:37

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠China is stepping up enactment its first basic law specializing in promoting the private sector, with its draft being released on Thursday for soliciting public opinion.

The draft, with 77 articles in nine chapters, features equal treatment and protection of private sector businesses. Its formulation aims to create a law-based environment that is more conducive to the growth of all economic sectors, including the private sector.

For years, China's economic growth has heavily depended on its dynamic private sector. The release of this new draft law has sparked optimism among private companies, who believe it will significantly benefit their operations.

The law is anticipated to improve the investment and financing landscape for private enterprises, promote their engagement in scientific and technological innovation, and protect their economic rights and interests.

Xie Lele, a marketing manager at a private eVTOL company, believes that the new law will drive investment direction and boost confidence for private sector.

"In terms of investment, identifying the right application scenario can lead to significant investment. In the low-altitude sector, for example, the government has taken the lead, saying that as long as the field is deemed safe to invest in, it can be explored first. This approach could attract more investment into the sector, ensuring sustained growth," said Xie.

China has consistently sent clear signals to its private sector to alleviate concerns about a bleak consumer demand outlook and expectations of an unstable future. The most recent and strongest indication was last year's introduction of the "31 measures", which aims to create a "bigger, better, and stronger" private economy.

Private enterprises are the backbone of China's economy, contributing over 60 percent of the country's GDP and more than 80 percent of urban employment. With 55 million privately-owned businesses and 125 million self-employed individuals, the private sector represents over 96 percent of all market entities in China. The newly proposed legislation is expected to foster a more stable, fair, and predictable business environment for these private enterprises.

China's new energy passenger vehicle sales surge in September

2024-10-13 11:57 Last Updated At：12:37

China's new energy passenger vehicle market continued to see robust growth in September, with its penetration rate, a gauge of popularity, in the domestic market climbed to 53.3 percent, according to the data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Saturday.

This marks the third consecutive month that the penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicle has surpassed 50 percent.

During the first nine months of 2024, total retail sales of new energy passenger cars amounted to 7.13 million units, representing a 37.4 percent increase from the previous year, the CPCA data showed.

Experts attribute the growth to the country's trade-in policies.

Last month, China issued a new circular that increased financial incentives to encourage consumers to scrap their old vehicles and buy new ones.

According to the circular, subsidies for trade-ins of new-energy passenger vehicles have doubled from 10,000 yuan -- a figure stipulated in an April document -- to 20,000 yuan.

Afterward, several local administrations have introduced corresponding subsidy schemes.

"The automobile trade-in policy promoted by the country and the relevant measures introduced by local governments have boosted the confidence of domestic consumers, leading to noticeable increase of retail sales. New energy vehicles have exceeded expectations, further solidifying their global leadership position. The new quality productive forces in auto industry are rapidly shifting from quantitative to qualitative changes," said Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

During the January-September period, China's auto production reached approximately 21.47 million units, up 1.9 percent year on year, according to the data released by the CAAM on Saturday.

Auto sales totaled 21.57 million units, marking a 2.4 percent increase from the same period of last year. Notably, both production and sales of new energy vehicles surpassed 8.3 million units, with year-on-year growth exceeding 30 percent in both categories, the data showed.