Authorities in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in southern China, are planning new legislative changes to support and boost private businesses. The aim is to ensure the high-quality development of the local private economy. Ye Huadong, the director of the Guangzhou Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Bureau, has said that the new rules will address key issues to boost the confidence of local private companies. The new regulations are expected to be approved by local legislators by the end of this year.
The proposed 42-article document, covering general principles, innovative development and the rights and interests of the private economy, aims to protect the legitimate rights and interests of private firms and optimize their development environment. Specific measures are included in a draft that proposes government departments should not arbitrarily terminate the legitimate use of production and business premises of private companies.
The draft also requires banking and financial institutions not to stop issuing loans to private enterprises or terminate loans before they are due. In Guangzhou, the private economy contributes 95 percent of market players, over 80 percent of new jobs and more than 40 percent of GDP, fixed assets, investment and tax revenue, according to the province’s industry and information technology bureau.
The draft includes measures to provide adequate space for the operation of the private economy. This includes requiring government departments to make reasonable use of existing land stocks, unused state-owned factories, professional markets, and other places for land use by private enterprises. Land for private projects that comply with land planning and industrial policies may be provided through industrial land supply methods such as lease-purchase agreements and flexible annual leasing to reduce land costs.
According to the draft document, small and medium-sized private companies that jointly participate in the bidding and auction of industrial land are allowed to divide the land according to regulations. The draft regulation also requires a unified negative list system for market access in accordance with national regulations to protect the rights and interests of private enterprises. Such a negative list ensures that no discriminatory conditions are imposed on private companies that enter industries and fields that are not explicitly prohibited by laws and administrative regulations.
Such local government regulations are in line with the country’s determination to enable private entrepreneurs to grow and thrive. China’s private enterprises will have a better environment and broader development space, Premier Li Qiang said. The nation will continue to foster a market-oriented, law-based business environment in keeping with international standards, treat companies of all types of ownership as equals and protect the property rights of enterprises as well as the rights and interests of entrepreneurs in accordance with the law.
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