The Party chief of central China's Hunan Province has reiterated the province's commitment to creating a fair, transparent and predictable business environment for private enterprises, as part of efforts to make private entrepreneurs feel more confident in the market.
In an exclusive interview with China Media Group, Shen Xiaoming, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Hunan Provincial Committee, laid out a series of targeted reforms aimed at supporting private businesses.
Hunan will earnestly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech at a symposium on private enterprises by focusing on improving the precision and effectiveness of its policies, introducing practical and effective measures to ease the burden on private companies and unleash their development potential, he said.
"General Secretary Xi's speech at the symposium sent a strong and consistent signal that the Party and the state care about, value, and support the development of the private economy. The key to promote private sector growth lies in creating a healthy business environment. We will roll out targeted, impactful policies and abolish outdated regulations that hinder private enterprises," said Shen.
To further reduce operational costs, Hunan is launching various initiatives, while exploring a one-stop mechanism for handling company feedback. Shen highlighted the province's dual focus on reducing energy and logistics costs.
"We're working toward two major cost reductions. First, lowering energy costs by increasing electricity imports into Hunan, so enterprises can access cheaper power. Second, cutting logistics costs by promoting multimodal transportation and optimizing the overall logistics network to bring down total social logistics expenses," said Shen.
In 2025, Hunan also aims to build a fairer business environment through deepened administrative reforms. The province is pushing for fully digital, transparent, and traceable government services, while using big data to eliminate hidden barriers to market access.
"We're accelerating the creation of a unified digital platform for public resource transactions. Private enterprises will be treated equally in government procurement and public project bidding. Improving the business environment is an ongoing endeavor rather than a task to be completed. We will continue to act on the general secretary's message, helping private businesses better grow with greater confidence," said Shen.
China's Hunan vows more reform efforts to boost confidence in private sector
China's Hunan vows more reform efforts to boost confidence in private sector
The universal "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the United States signals a decline in the U.S. economic dominance and dollar hegemony, as the country is attempting to extract excessive financial benefits from its trading partners, according to economists, who warn the Trump administration is playing a "dangerous game".
U.S. President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" before unveiling higher rates on certain trading partners. The policy sent shockwaves throughout the global economy and triggered panic on financial markets, with analysts warning of significant risks and dire economic consequences.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Hong Hao, chief economist of the GROW Investment Group, a Shanghai-based hedge fund, said the tariffs reflect Trump's strategy to extract economic benefits from trading partners, particularly viewing China as a significant competitor. "Trump really believes that the trade terms with the trading partners have been unfair to the U.S., and as a result, the U.S. manufacturing sector has been hollowed out. Therefore, the U.S. is paying an excessive price for globalization, and now, it's time to pay back. I think, from this angle, he is trying to extract economic rent from its trading partners, and also he is trying to see China as one of the major U.S. rivals at this juncture. So, I think, as a result, he is playing a very dangerous game. And, as you can see, it's political theater in the sense that he is trying to dramatize the extreme pressure, so that he can get excessive rent from the opponent," he said
Trump's unilateral imposition of tariffs has eroded global confidence in the U.S. and its dollar's status, leading many to state that the American hegemony may not persist, according to Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics and international relations at East China Normal University.
"The U.S. economy is at an inflection point. There is a moment where the previous strategies being used to sustain American hegemony were no longer working. And, it's only a matter of time before the U.S. position erodes, given the fact that it's been a house of cards built on the dollar supremacy. And a lot of people don't see that as having a brighter future. This has moved past the theater stage and has moved really directly into one in which no one really has confidence in the U.S. anymore. No one has confidence in the dollar. No one has confidence in the U.S. being committed to the multilateral system, to global trade and so forth and so on," he said.
Trump playing "dangerous game" as tariff measures signal decline in U.S. dollar hegemony: economists
