Workers of a centrally administered state-owned enterprise on a non-woven fabric production line Photo: cnsphoto

The revenue of China's centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) grew 19.5 percent to 36.3 trillion yuan ($5.72 trillion) in 2021, reaching a record high.

The central SOEs generated net profits of 1.8 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.8 percent, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) said at a press conference on Wednesday. 

Operating goals set at the beginning of 2021, including profit margins, R&D investment, labor productivity and asset-liability ratios, were all achieved, the SASAC said.

These remarkable results gave powerful assurance and confidence to various industries across China amid the pandemic's bite, Bai Ming, deputy director of the international market research institute at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"Chinese centrally administered SOEs are the backbone of the Chinese economy, and also the reliable support of the people's livelihood," said Bai. 

He noted that the SOEs should realize the importance of self-regulation, which will further improve their competitiveness.

"Chinese centrally administered SOEs should develop their core competitive technologies to confront the dynamic global market… after their achievements in 2021," said Bai. 

In 2021, which was the second year of China's three-year plan for SOE reform, 70 percent of the reform goals were completed, which aimed to rectify the operation and supervision mechanisms, Peng Huagang, spokesperson of the SASAC, said at the press conference.

Given the uncertainties in 2022, Peng vowed to cap the asset-liability ratios of centrally administered SOEs under 65 percent, and to see that their revenue and net profit growth rates surpassed the growth of GDP. 

He also pledged to improve productivity and R&D investment to confront potential challenges. 

Global Times