BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s state planner on Monday issued a notice saying it would further improve the policy environment to encourage the development of private investment, the latest move to prop up the faltering economy facing multiple headwinds.
The world’s second-biggest economy showed surprising growth in the third quarter but the recovery was dimmed by a deepening property slump, weakening consumption and sustained COVID restrictions.
China will increase policy support to stimulate the vitality of private investment, stabilise market expectations and increase job opportunities, as “private investment accounts for more than half of the total social investments,” said the notice.
Private enterprises will be incentivised to invest in 102 major projects in areas such as transportation, water conservation and carbon reduction, according to the notice published on the website of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Beijing also said it woud support the development of the platform economy with a focus on investment of key projects such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and blockchain.
Central-owned enterprises will be encouraged to step up the use of new products and technologies from private enterprises.
Policymakers last week pledged that growth was still a priority and they would press on with reforms, in an apparent bid to soothe fears that ideology could take precedence as President Xi Jinping began a new leadership term and strict COVID curbs exact a growing toll on the economy.
(Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Tom Hogue and Stephen Coates)
