Scholars at the Summit concerning the protection of entrepreneurs’ rights Photo: youth.cn

Recently, a summit concerning the protection of entrepreneurs’ rights was held in Beijing.

Over the past 40 years, entrepreneurs including those in private sectors have made contributions to advancing productivity, representing market potentials and market driving forces. Chen Wenling, chief economist from the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said that entrepreneurs represent our nation’s creativity, vitality and ability to maintain sustainable development, thus it is necessary to promote the protection of entrepreneurs’ rights in the following five aspects: First, a solid institutional foundation should be laid. Second, the success of the Reform and Opening up should be summarized and analyzed in terms of ideology. Third, efforts should be made to stabilize public expectations. Fourth, we should adopt workable and effective policies and measures related to reform. Fifth, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs’ creativity should be stimulated.

Cai E’sheng, former vice chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission and chairman of the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation, analyzed the problem facing private firms from a financing perspective, that is, in regard to the difficulty and high cost of getting financing and loans. To solve this problem, measures should be taken to improve banking workflows, procedures and risk control, and moreover the actual demands of private firms should be considered. It is necessary to comprehensively improve systems and mechanisms and to continuously perfect the service systems related to financial innovation and financial products, said Cai.

To promote the development of private firms, it is more important to foster an institutional environment of legalization and to earnestly protect the safety of private entrepreneurs and their property. Xie Pengcheng, head of the Procuratorial Theory Research Institute under the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China, said that the strengthening of judicial safeguards of the safety of private entrepreneurs and their property is fundamental for the private sector’s further development. As property safety is the foundation for the private sector’s progress, the democratic and legal systems must foster a favorable environment; the administration of justice must provide the final defense.

To develop the private sector and protect private entrepreneurs’ rights, from the perspective of state governance, breakthroughs can’t be made without attention to detail. Scholars noted that penal protection should be strengthened in addition to protection in civil and administrative aspects. Any prejudice toward private entrepreneurs should be removed so as to improve the legal system in terms of protecting their rights. Three key terms— private firms, the market economy and the protection of personal property—should be attached great importance when talking about the legal protection of private firms and private entrepreneurs. Private firms should be at equal footing with state-owned businesses.