Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province Photo: cnsphoto

Jack Ma returned to China and appeared in Hangzhou. This should not have been news, since his business is in China and his root is also in China. After traveling around the world, where else could he go if he didn't return to China? Bloomberg and other foreign media spread the rumor that "Jack Ma won't return to China" with their imagination, but were slapped in the face. 

Ma's leaving and returning to China have received attention due to various speculations surrounding private enterprises in recent times. As a veteran media professional, I believe it's necessary to clarify some things.

Firstly, it is true that the confidence of private entrepreneurs has been somewhat low in recent times, and our society needs to face and reflect on this situation. In the next step, all regions should resolutely support and assist private enterprises in all aspects in accordance with the central government's guidelines. Laws should be implemented to regulate various behaviors of private enterprises, and public opinion should also treat private enterprises and entrepreneurs with kindness. The entire society should work together to maintain an overall environment that is conducive to the healthy and lawful development of private enterprises.

Secondly, regarding the difficulties faced by private enterprises, we should take a realistic and practical approach, do not exaggerate them, especially not to define them based on speculation. The state has never had the intention of suppressing private enterprises or promoting the so-called "state-owned enterprise dominance, private enterprise retreat" agenda. Although there have been various radical speculations, there has not been a single well-known private entrepreneur in the industry who has had the rumored experience. Looking at the situation in the officialdom and the financial sector, we must say that encouraging and accommodating private enterprises and entrepreneurs has always been the main tone of our society.

Thirdly, China has experienced rapid development, and a group of private enterprises have grown rapidly, with national and even global influence, and their capital scale has expanded sharply. These are new things in China, and they require adjustments and continuous consensus-building. This requires joint efforts from all parties to continuously form new positive and constructive initiatives within the Chinese system.

Currently, China is at a new starting point of striving for greater progress with a strong determination. The goal of achieving a new revitalization of both state-owned and private enterprises resonates throughout the country. After going through the pandemic fight and practical experiences over the past period, our entire society has become more mature, steady, and has a higher degree of real consensus. There are still many tough battles to fight and many hard nuts to crack in front of us. The efficiency and competitiveness of Chinese private enterprises are top-notch and they are an important driving force for our society to continue moving forward. We believe that no private business giant will lie flat in the days to come, and we also believe that new forces will continue to emerge, working together to create a competitive and thriving business environment.

The author is a commentator with the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn