BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s state planner on Monday unveiled measures aimed at promoting, encouraging and stimulating private investment in some infrastructure sectors, saying it would strengthen financing support for private projects.
The latest announcement comes as China pledged to improve the private sector last week, releasing guidelines from the Communist Party and cabinet in which authorities vowed to make the private sector “bigger, better and stronger” amid a sluggish post-pandemic economic recovery.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the statement said it hopes to attract more private capital to participate in the construction of major national projects.
The National Development and Reform Commission stated that the fields of transportation, water conservancy, clean energy, new infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and modern agriculture will be open to private capital participation. It added that more specific details would be provided later.
Over the past few weeks, investors have been betting on more stimulus to prop up an economy that is rapidly losing steam after an initial post-pandemic rebound. However, some piecemeal measures announced by the authorities disappointed the market.
In guidance issued last week, China said it would establish a “traffic light” system to identify areas where private investors can invest.
The statement said that “to fully understand the significance of improving private investment,” the NDRC will strive to keep the proportion of private fixed asset investment in total investment at a “reasonable level.”
Official data last week showed private fixed-asset investment fell 0.2% year-on-year in the first six months of the year, while investment in state-owned entities rose 8.1%, underscoring weak private sector confidence.
NDRC also pledged to strengthen financial support for private investment projects.
The National Development and Reform Commission will set up special funds in the central budget to provide annual support to cities with high private investment growth and strong policy implementation.
