ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: New Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang sought to reassure the country’s private sector on Monday, saying the environment for entrepreneurial businesses would improve and that equal treatment would be given to companies, regardless of ownership type.
Li, installed as prime minister on Saturday during the annual session of China’s parliament, is tasked with reviving the world’s second-largest economy after three years of covid-19 curbs. But he faces challenges, including fragile confidence among consumers and private industry, sluggish export demand, and worsening ties with the United States (US).
Making his public debut in a wide-ranging media conference, the ex-Communist Party secretary of Shanghai and close ally of President Xi Jinping also said China would take measures to boost jobs, especially in the services sector.
“Developing the economy is the basic solution for creating jobs,” Li, 63, said during the televised session at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.
Private education
The country’s private sector has been rattled in recent years by a sweeping regulatory clampdown targeting some of its vibrant industries, including the internet and private education.
At the opening of the annual parliamentary session, the country set a GDP growth target of 5 percent, its lowest aim in nearly three decades, after the economy grew just 3 percent the previous year.
Li said achieving the target would be challenging, with China facing many difficulties this year.
