China’s state-asset watchdog has urged the country’s state-owned enterprises to act as an anchor for strategic industries, while also calling for a predictable, level playing field for private firms – a combination it said was essential for building world-class businesses.
Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), outlined Beijing’s latest push to strengthen both the state and private sectors in an article published in Community Party newspaper People’s Daily on Monday.
“We need to guide state capital to play a more active role in upgrading traditional industries, fostering cluster-based growth in strategic emerging sectors, and nurturing the industries of the future,” he said.
China’s centrally administered state-owned enterprises invested 1.1 trillion yuan (US$154.6 billion) on research and development last year, with their R&D spending rising by 6.5 per cent per year on average since 2021, according to official data.
