East China's Shandong strives to promote high-quality development of private sector: provincial Party chief

East China's Shandong Province, a key manufacturing powerhouse, is stepping up efforts to improve its business environment to support high-quality development of the private sector, which aligns with the vision outlined in a recent speech by President Xi Jinping on promoting development of the private sector, according to the Party chief of the province.

At a symposium on private enterprises held in Beijing on February 17, Xi called for efforts to promote healthy and high-quality development of the private sector.

According to Lin Wu, secretary of the Shandong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi's speech has provided key guidance for the province's efforts to promote development of the private sector. 

Shandong Province is focusing on improving legal, policy, market, and financial conditions to guarantee fair competition for private businesses.

The province is also addressing financing challenges by encouraging financial institutions to develop specialized products and services tailored for private businesses.

By 2025, Shandong plans to grant over 500 billion yuan (68.8 billion U.S. dollars) in new credit for private businesses through its credit loan platform. 

"Defining the private economy as a key pillar of high-quality development, Shandong will adopt guiding matching policies for the construction of a unified national market and fully implement the revised negative list for market access. The province will also revise the Regulations of Shandong Province on Promoting Development of the Private Economy at an appropriate time, to ensure equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules for all market entities, fostering a fair and orderly competition environment," Lin said.

Shandong is also committed to fostering innovation and expanding opportunities for private enterprises.

In 2024, private capital entered the province's nuclear power sector for the first time, while its share in wind and solar energy projects reached 40 percent.

Looking ahead, Shandong aims to further enhance private businesses' competitiveness and drive their industrial upgrades toward high-end, smart, and green development. 

"Shandong is advancing its industries toward high-end, smart, and green development while supporting enterprises in creating distinctive competitive products. The province aims to promote healthy growth of the private sector of the economy and guide private entrepreneurs toward sustainable development, contributing to the broader goal of Chinese modernization in Shandong," Lin said.

East China's Shandong strives to promote high-quality development of private sector: provincial Party chief

Los Angeles is grappling with rising costs and delays in its wildfire recovery process, as tariffs on construction materials imposed during the Trump administration compound the challenges.

The devastating wildfires recently destroyed over 17,000 homes and businesses, leaving communities urgently pushing forward with reconstruction.

The Trump administration has recently rolled out new tariffs on a wide range of construction materials, including steel and aluminum, from the main trading partners of the United States, such as Canada, Mexico, and China. This has significantly driven up costs, further complicating the recovery efforts

"As the city and county of Los Angeles move aggressively to rebuild the wildfire areas in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, and up in Altadena, to build those houses, we need softwood lumber, aluminum, and steel from Canada," said Gene Soroka, executive director of Port of Los Angeles.

While the tariffs aim to boost domestic production, the transition will take time. In the interim, the shortage of materials is creating ripple effects across the construction sector.

"We are still handling a lot of imported steel, despite the tariffs because there's not enough American manufacturing of steel right now. So, one of the unintended consequences that this has done the wrong way is you don't have enough steel. That impacts construction, that impacts economic growth across the board," said Weston Labar, chief strategy office of Waterfront Logistics.

According to the Associated General Contractors of America, housing costs could skyrocket by almost 50 percent, widening the gap between insurance payouts and actual rebuilding expenses. It may force many homeowners to delay or even abandon their reconstruction plans, prolonging the housing shortage in Los Angeles.

Tariffs are also driving up prices for other products, impacting recovery efforts.

"We need appliances from Mexico, furniture from China, and all of those prices are going up, whether anticipatory, or real as these imports are coming across our port complex. So, we've got to have some pretty detailed discussions about this because families who want to rebuild, businesses who want to get back into the office are going to be impacted by these tariffs one way or another," said Soroka.

As Los Angeles strives to recover, the economic uncertainty caused by tariffs presents a formidable obstacle.

Tariffs add strain to Los Angeles wildfire recovery efforts