China Improves Environment for Enterprise Management

Efforts made by the Chinese government in creating a preferential environment for enterprise management created enormous interest among delegates at the U.S. Asia Society's 11th Annual Corporate Conference.

Yu Xiaosong, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said in a keynote speech at Friday's meeting that "the Chinese government has and will continue to adopt resolute measures to free State-owned enterprises (SOEs) from the control of specific economic departments and expand their operation to broader areas."

The government economic administrative departments will be further streamlined, and the independent management of enterprises will be guaranteed, he added.

An official from the State Economic and Trade Commission said that the target of future reforms will be "smaller government and better service", converting government administration into services and pushing enterprises into the market.

Chinese governments at all levels are making concerted efforts to alleviate the debt burden of enterprises, mainly by converting bank's non-performing assets to equities, and issuing bonds and stock shares to increase enterprises capital fund.

Director of the Economic Commission of Shanghai, Huang Qifan, said at Friday's round-table meeting that by listing shares on the stock market, mergers, land replacement and other asset restructuring measures, Shanghai has reduced the rate of loss- making SOEs from 40 percent to 20 percent.

He said that by injecting capital and readjusting the structure of products, the city's industries have maintained a stable growth rate at about 12 percent annually in recent years. The growth rate of new and high-tech industries is as high as 30 percent annually.

"Now 90 percent of Shanghai's SOEs have established a modern enterprise system," he added.

Experts at the meeting held that, by promoting the development of the capital market, establishing a social insurance system, improving the legal framework and speeding up the development of service industries, China is on the right track for creating an even better environment for enterprise management.



Please visit People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/