China promises to treat private firms equally

Premier Wen Jiabao said that China will give private firms the same treatment as government-owned firms and repeal restrictive laws which make competition between private and public sector companies unfair. Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said that private firms will get the same access to investment, taxation, land use and foreign trade as their state-owned counterparts. They will also be allowed to invest in utilities and other formerly restricted public projects. Premier Wen called private firms a "vital component of China's socialist market economy''. Wen's statements are in line with WTO commitments which require that laws protecting state-owned firms are repealed.