Promoting the development and growth of the private economy, addressing pain points, difficulties, and bottlenecks
Recently, the Central Compilation Office officially approved the establishment of the Private Economy Development Bureau within the National Development and Reform Commission. The Private Economy Development Bureau, as a specialized working organization to promote the growth and development of the private economy, aims to strengthen the overall coordination of policies in relevant fields, and promote the early implementation and effective results of various major measures.
Since the official issuance of the "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Promoting the Development and Growth of the Private Economy" on July 19 this year, various departments and regions have actively implemented and promoted the stable recovery and improvement of the private economy. However, during recent visits to some private entrepreneurs and holding symposiums, the author found that there are still some problems in protecting the property rights and interests of private enterprises and entrepreneurs in accordance with the law, promoting the development and growth of the private economy, and the following areas need to be focused on:
1、 Pay attention to leveraging market mechanisms and follow the laws of economic development.
In the process of promoting industrial upgrading, many places adopt the method of "vacating cages for birds". The original intention of "changing cages for birds" is to achieve industrial transformation and upgrading, and improve the utilization rate of scarce resource elements such as land. The government uses a series of policy measures to transfer low value-added enterprises from existing regions, and then transfers high value-added enterprises, especially knowledge intensive enterprises, in. However, in the actual implementation and operation process, many problems have also been exposed. For example, some private enterprises have reported that some local governments use simple and rough methods to force private enterprises to relocate and vacate land quotas. This mandatory "cage swapping" ultimately did not achieve the expected results, with old companies forced to relocate and new companies not moving in, resulting in a "bird flying cage empty" outcome.
Promoting industrial upgrading does not mean simply exiting some traditional industries that require transformation and upgrading as so-called "low-end industries". Industrial development is a dynamic historical process, and new things emerge from old things. Today, some high-end manufacturing industries with high technological content and added value are upgraded from labor-intensive traditional industries. Seizing the historic opportunities brought by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, traditional industries can also be revitalized and win the future through digital empowerment and green transformation. The "new" and "old", "high-end" and "low-end" of an enterprise are all phased and not static. Industrial upgrading is necessary, but it needs to be promoted in an orderly and natural manner according to market laws, in order to minimize the significant impact on employment.
Therefore, we must comply with the laws of industrial development, adhere to the fundamental role of market mechanisms in "cage swapping", and pay attention to the innovation of market-oriented means and methods. Emphasize the construction of a rule of law based business environment, reduce administrative intervention, and play a fundamental, stable, and long-term role through the rule of law. Create a fair, transparent, and predictable policy and legal environment, restore investment expectations of market entities, clarify the boundaries between government and market, find the best combination of market functions and government behavior, promote better integration of "effective market" and "promising government", and promote the healthy and sustainable development of private enterprises and the national economy.
2、 Improve the government's integrity compliance mechanism and stabilize enterprise investment expectations.
Some private enterprises have reported that in the process of attracting investment, some local governments, in order to achieve "political achievements" as soon as possible, are not doing a solid job in improving the conditions for attracting investment in the local area, but are doing everything possible to coax investors first. In fact, some promised preferential policies are simply impossible to achieve. In addition, some local governments take over the investment process and act on behalf of others. The main task of the government should be to establish plans, coordinate, provide services, and supervise, in order to create a good situation where the government takes the stage and enterprises perform. However, in reality, some local governments play the role of cooperative enterprises, negotiating with investors to implement specific cooperation conditions and details, and making commitments that cannot be fulfilled.
The reason for this is, on the one hand, due to the lack of a disciplinary mechanism for dishonesty, which results in lower default costs for investment seekers; On the other hand, some local governments still lack the ability to manage contracts, and have not established a unified and standardized contract text management system, allowing the investment entities to sign and manage the entire performance process on their own. Many contract texts have made very detailed provisions on preferential policies given to investors, but there are no actionable legal protection measures for breach of contract accountability.
People do not stand without faith, and businesses do not prosper without faith. We should incorporate the lawful and honest performance of investment promotion into the construction of a rule of law government and government integrity. We should strictly fulfill policy commitments made to society and administrative counterparts in accordance with the law, fulfill various contracts signed with investment entities in investment promotion activities in accordance with the law, and not breach contracts on the grounds of government changes or changes in relevant responsible persons. New officials should not ignore old accounts.
At the same time, local authorities should be urged to improve the system of punishing dishonesty. Without the constraints of social evaluation mechanisms, internal assessments, and legal responsibilities, administrative actions are prone to overstepping, losing, and misplaced. For behaviors such as non-compliance with laws, regulations, and relevant systems, abuse of power for personal gain, dereliction of duty, etc., especially those that seriously endanger the legitimate rights and interests of the masses and enterprises and cause adverse effects, efforts should be made to increase investigation and punishment, hold relevant responsible persons accountable, and strive to create a new type of "pro" and "clean" political and business relationship, creating a good investment promotion environment.
In addition, it is necessary to standardize investment promotion behavior, improve the decision-making mechanism in accordance with the law, and strictly follow necessary procedures such as public participation, expert argumentation, risk assessment, legality review, compliance review, and collective discussion and decision-making for the policy commitments and various contracts to be made in investment promotion, to ensure legality, compliance, fairness, and impartiality. Especially for contracts with strong professionalism, opinions from legal departments and professional consulting institutions should be fully listened to. We need to strengthen the management of the entire process of drafting, negotiating, fulfilling, changing, terminating, transferring, terminating, and invalidating investment promotion contracts.
3、 Eliminate differential treatment and hidden discrimination, and continuously ensure policy fairness and transparency.
In the current laws, systems, and various policy provisions formulated by local departments, explicit unfairness towards the private economy is rare, but "hidden" discrimination still exists. The financing costs of private enterprises are generally high, especially in the context of increased economic downturn pressure, which has squeezed their financing. Private enterprises are often located upstream or downstream of the industrial chain of large enterprises, with a weak position in the industry chain. They mostly lack the financing guarantees required by financial institutions and are relatively weak in the financial market. The availability and accessibility of financing are insufficient, and they often face "financing difficulties". For private enterprises that can obtain financing, in order to cover risks, it is necessary to increase risk compensation in loan interest rates, which directly leads to "expensive financing", which makes many private enterprises face a more severe financing environment.
To support the development of the private economy, relevant government departments have introduced a large number of supportive policies, but there are still some difficulties in implementation. Some private enterprises have small loan interest subsidy policies and high thresholds, making it difficult to meet their real financing needs; The application process for some policies is cumbersome and requires a considerable amount of manpower and resources, which makes enterprises hesitant and ultimately leads to poor actual implementation results. In addition, due to the fragmentation and dispersion among national credit reporting platforms, local credit platforms, and market-oriented credit institutions, banks find it difficult to obtain true credit information of private enterprises through a unified credit reporting system, which also affects the availability of financing to a certain extent.
In fact, private enterprises in China have undergone numerous trials and tribulations in the market economy, and are not afraid of market competition, but they are afraid of monopolies and unequal competition conditions. By providing legal protection and implementing measures, breaking down implicit barriers and achieving equal treatment, private enterprises of different scales can operate with peace of mind, invest with confidence, and focus on entrepreneurship. This is what private enterprises need and should strive for, and it is also the essence of China's high-quality economic development. To this end, measures should be taken to gradually weaken or even abolish the method of classifying enterprises based on ownership and enterprise size, eliminate the identification and administrative level of enterprises, unify "national" treatment, achieve competitive neutrality, strengthen property rights management of enterprises, strengthen judicial control over market competition, and restore the confidence of private entrepreneurs.
In addition, improve the current loan approval process and establish a credit system, policies, and procedures suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. Establish an information database for small and medium-sized enterprises, achieve data and information resource sharing, guide enterprises to operate in a standardized manner, and improve the transparency of enterprise credit. Improve the financing environment and establish long-term and systematic strategies and plans for the development of private enterprises. Increase tax incentives, financial subsidies, loan interest subsidies, and other policy advantages for private enterprises, and simplify application procedures as much as possible to truly facilitate the people and benefit enterprises.
4、 Consistent and long-term efforts should be made to ensure implementation, so that the "fresh army" can have a backing.
To support the development of the private economy, on the one hand, it requires good policies with abundant resources, sufficient quality, and strong targeting. On the other hand, it also relies on the execution power of grasping the traces of iron, leaving footprints on stones, and achieving long-term results. The vitality of policies lies in their implementation. Only by addressing the pain points, difficulties, and bottlenecks, effectively solving the "last mile" problem of policy implementation, and deepening and implementing the promotion of the private economy, can the "gold content" of policies be turned into a "driving force" for development, and the maximum policy effect be fully realized.
Protecting the legitimate rights and interests of private entrepreneurs is an inevitable requirement for the development of socialist market economy, and it is also a necessary obligation for comprehensive rule of law. The protection of the rights and interests of private entrepreneurs must follow the principles of scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, fair justice, and universal compliance with the law. The legislative body should introduce relevant laws and regulations to protect the legitimate rights and interests of private entrepreneurs, establish a sound legal system to regulate and guide the healthy and orderly development of capital, and form a complete framework, clear logic, and complete system to protect the rights and interests of private entrepreneurs. In the process of law enforcement by administrative agencies, it is necessary to ensure that private entrepreneurs make independent decisions, operate independently, and bear their own profits and losses, in order to maintain fair competition and normal operation of private enterprises. Judicial and supervisory authorities should minimize the damage and impact on the legitimate rights and interests of private entrepreneurs and their normal business activities when using mandatory measures such as search, sealing, seizure, freezing, detention, and arrest in accordance with the law. In addition, it is necessary to further deepen the promotion and education of the rule of law, enhance the legal concept of private entrepreneurs, and standardize the operation and management of private enterprises.
