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Chinese entrepreneurs demand equal rights

BEIJING - China's private sector still does not feel free to develop business opportunities fully, even though entrepreneurs have become an important force to reckon with in the economy thanks to encouragement and guidance from the central authorities, say members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

CPPCC members reported to China's legislature that there is about 20,000 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) worth of non-governmental capital lying idle, failing to find its way into investment areas, and that institutional factors obstruct private capital from entering the investment area.

The biggest difficulty for the private sector is capital expansion, CPPCC member Yin Mingshan said in a speech to the National People's Congress, because the threshold for access to capital is too high, and private business owners have complained that "private capital is welcome to non-lucrative sectors, but barred from lucrative sectors". Yin is the first private entrepreneur to hold a leadership position in the CPPCC.

In Chongqing, for example, private companies contributed to 42.3 percent of city's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2002, but received only 8 percent of all bank loans.

CPPCC members all called for a sound institutional environment for the development of the private sector and unified market-access standards for all sectors of the economy. They also called for a review of outdated laws and regulations.

They attacked some authorities at the local level for arbitrary enforcement of administrative laws and for extortion, both of which are not conducive to the development of the private sector. Finally, CPPCC members said that central government policies with respect to private enterprise are good, but have not been implemented effectively.

(Asia Pulse/XIC)

Mar 10, 2004

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