China's NDRC Convenes Private Sector Forum to Spur Effective Investment

China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), convened a symposium with private enterprise executives to gather feedback on stabilizing macroeconomic operations and stimulating effective private investment. NDRC Chairman Zheng Shanjie pledged to maximize the impact of existing measures, introduce pragmatic incremental policies, and dismantle hidden market barriers to facilitate private enterprise participation in major state projects and emerging industrial chains.

Private investment remains a critical pillar of China's economic vitality. Direct engagement by top macroeconomic planners signals Beijing's intent to refine policy support, ease market access, and bolster business confidence amid shifting domestic and external economic pressures.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) held a dedicated symposium on August 20 with representatives from the private sector to gather feedback on stabilizing economic operations and expanding effective investment, according to announcements by the agency and domestic media reports. NDRC Chairman Zheng Shanjie chaired the session, which included executive leadership from five private enterprises spanning diverse industrial sectors: TGOOD (electrical equipment), Truking Technology (pharmaceutical equipment), Socian Technology (consumer services/data analytics), RayNeo (smart terminals), and Erdos Resources (textiles, garments, metallurgy, and chemicals). NDRC Vice Chairman Shen Zhulin and officials from relevant commission departments also took part in the discussions. During the meeting, corporate executives shared operational assessments, investment outlooks, and operational challenges. Participating business leaders emphasized that while structural transitions and external headwinds persist, opportunities remain abundant in new growth drivers. The executives submitted recommendations covering investment service optimization, enhanced state-owned and private enterprise collaboration, market competition standardization, expanded financing channels, and policy support for traditional industry upgrades. In response, Zheng affirmed the NDRC's commitment to routine, institutionalized communication with private firms to ensure that macroeconomic measures remain sensitive and responsive to frontline market conditions. Zheng acknowledged the mounting difficulties faced by select industries due to overlapping internal and external factors, urging private entrepreneurs to maintain strategic confidence, tap investment potential, and actively take part in national major strategies and supply chain upgrading. Zheng stated that the NDRC will implement recent decisions from the Politburo and the State Council by fully unleashing the effects of existing policies and timely formulating pragmatic, actionable incremental measures. He added that the agency will coordinate major engineering projects under the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan and the 'Six Networks' infrastructure framework, advance key initiatives in national security capacities and equipment upgrades, dismantle implicit market entry barriers, broaden open application scenarios, and safeguard the legal rights of private enterprises to invigorate private investment.