The Supreme People’s Court has mandated for more guarantees of freedom and protection of property rights for private Chinese businesses, Caixin reports. The move comes just days after a series of statements by President Xi Jinping in support of the private sector.
The court’s statement said the judicial system should strengthen safeguards of legal rights and build a fairer legal environment for private companies. All market entities should receive equal treatment in court cases and financial disagreements between companies should not always be treated as criminal matters, the statement said.
Legal officials should also overturn past cases of wrongful conviction of private entrepreneurs, as well as set up a legal framework in which private firms can resolve financial and ownership disputes, the court urged.
The Chinese government is doubling down on efforts to reassure the private sector, a cornerstone of the economy that has suffered this year due to policies that have tended to favour state-owned enterprises. In 2017, there were more than 27 million private companies in China, which accounted for more than half of the country’s annual tax revenues, 80% of urban employment and 60% of GDP.