A worker arranges newly-produced floorboards at a factory in Benxi, northeast China's Liaoning Province, March 17, 2020. Photo:Xinhua

The private sector will embrace new opportunities, and the stage for private enterprises will get bigger as the country's economy is expected to pick up in 2023, a spokesperson for the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) said Friday.

Guo Weimin, the spokesperson, made the remarks one day before the country's top political advisory body starts its annual session.

To promote the development of private enterprises, some CPPCC National Committee members proposed that the property rights protection system should be further improved, some proposed the easing of market access in certain key industries and fields, and others proposed guiding financial institutions to increase support for small and micro enterprises, Guo said.

Many proposals have been adopted by government departments, and the members said that the private sector will embrace new opportunities, while the stage for private enterprises will get bigger, as the country's economy is expected to pick up in 2023, Guo said.

The private sector is an important part of China's economic development, as official data showed that it contributes more than 50 percent of tax revenues, more than 60 percent of GDP and over 70 percent of technological innovations. It also provides more than 80 percent of urban employment and accounts for more than 90 percent of market entities in China.

However, some enterprises are facing difficulties in their operations, as the country's economic recovery is not yet solid, and combined with challenging global markets. This is bringing some turbulence to the private sector.

It is necessary to clarify that the private sector is an important achievement of the development of the socialist market economy, and an important force for promoting economic development, Chinese analysts said.

The Central Economic Work Conference, which was held in December last year, required that legal and institutional arrangements ensure the equal treatment of private and state-owned enterprises.

A proposal sent to the Global Times by Wang Yu, a member of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC and board chairman of Spring Airlines, called for the removal of institutional barriers that restrict private enterprises from participating in market competition fairly and implementing the equal treatment of state-owned and private enterprises under law.

China's emphasis on supporting the development of private companies is giving entrepreneurs more confidence, and also encouraging them to seek breakthroughs in business and technology.

Fang Hongbo, chairman and president of China's leading home appliance maker Midea Group, told the Global Times that in the past three years, like many companies, his company has also withstood the headwinds brought by the pandemic, but accumulatively invested a sum of more than 25 billion yuan ($3.62 billion).

If investment in talents and technology are made earlier, then we can take the lead in future competition, he said.

China has a solid foundation in market size, industrial system and human resources, Guo said at the press conference, adding that China will do a good job in economic work in 2023 and give top priority to stable growth.