China's top economic planner to set up bureau to bolster private sector

China's top economic planner on Monday said it will set up an internal bureau to bolster policy coordination in the private economy.

The new department is a specialized agency to promote private sector development, strengthen policy coordination, and promote the efficient implementation and execution of critical measures, said Cong Liang, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planner.

Main responsibilities of the bureau include tracking, studying and analyzing the development of the private economy, coordinating and organizing the formulation of policies and measures to promote its development, and formulating policies to promote the growth of private investment, said Zhang Shixin, deputy secretary-general of the NDRC.

Zhang added that, the bureau will also be responsible for establishing a regular communication mechanism with private enterprises, coordinating the resolution of major issues related to the development of the private economy, and working to improve its international competitiveness.

The new bureau of the NDRC could play a liaison role to coordinate other authorities in providing policy support and guidance to China's private sector and firms as well as to facilitate communications between the government and the market, said Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research at JLL Greater China. The establishment of such a department can help to further shore up business confidence and sentiment in the private sector, with institutionalized coordination rather than flurries of policy push, he added.

In the past month, the NDRC has implemented a series of measures to support the private economy, including tax cuts, optimization of enterprise services and protection of the legitimate rights and interests of business operators, said Cong.

In encouraging privately invested infrastructure projects to issue real estate investment trusts (REITs), the NDRC has strengthened its supervisory and guidance work, said Cong. The NDRC recently recommended Goldwind Technology’s wind power project to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which is the first privately invested clean energy REITs project to be recommended, he added.

China's market watchdog, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), has also increased support for small and micro-sized enterprises, which are an integral part of the Chinese economy. Liu Jun, deputy director of the SAMR, said that the administration will further optimize the various institutional measures to encourage, support and guide the development of these enterprises.

(CGTN)