China courts private tech firms to help drive next 5-year plan
China has signalled growing support for the private sector, as the head of the government department that oversees economic reform sat down with representatives of the tech industry to gather input ahead of Beijing's next five-year development blueprint, analysts said.
Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), met leaders from five private enterprises to 'gather opinions and suggestions for the scientific formulation of the '15th Five-Year Plan', with a focus on technological innovation', according to a statement published by the NDRC on Tuesday.
Zheng said private enterprises could play a crucial role in helping Beijing formulate its next plan, which will cover the years 2026 to 2030.
The private sector 'possesses strong innovation momentum, great potential and abundant vitality', he added, making private companies 'a key force in developing new quality productive forces'.
01:29 The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard Since the start of the year, the Chinese government has struck an increasingly private-sector-friendly tone.
In February, President Xi Jinping held a rare high-level meeting with business heads – the first since 2018.
In May, a new private sector law came into effect, promising fairer market competition, equal market access and stronger legal protections.
Peng Peng, head of the Guangdong Society of Reform, a think tank affiliated with the provincial government, said the 15th Five-Year Plan would 'focus on technology and innovation as engines [for development], which means it needs to promote new and future-oriented industries.'
'Private companies have a lot more advantages in this regard. They are the key driving force in innovation.'
The five companies invited to attend the meeting were Moore Threads from Beijing, Zhejiang's Ant Group, BGI Genomics from Guangdong, Henan's Yinjinda New Materials and Sevnce Robotics from Chongqing.
The firms were carefully selected to each represent a strategic emerging industry, encompassing semiconductors, the internet, biopharmaceuticals, new materials and artificial intelligence (AI), Peng said.
'From a geographic standpoint, they are from all four corners of China,' he added, with Beijing in the north, Zhejiang in the east, Guangdong in the south, Henan in the centre and Chongqing in the west.
During the meeting, the business leaders asked the government to increase support in 'capital, talents, energy, data and other factors in the field of science and technological innovation'.
In response, Zheng vowed the government would 'carefully study and incorporate suggestions from private companies' and provide more 'targeted policy initiatives' to support the private sector, according to the NDRC statement.
'This (increasing focus on private companies) is necessary.
I'm in touch with some state-owned companies now, and they are all saying that their private counterparts are weathering the situation better,' Peng said.
The draft of the 15th Five-Year Plan draft is expected to be presented for review and approval during the annual session of the National People's Congress in March 2026.
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