2 days Ago By Sylvia Ma
China’s local state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have pledged to serve as the “cornerstone” of the nation’s economy and focus on restructuring and merging their businesses to improve their efficiency in their plans for 2025. Expanding their investments, supporting emerging industries, and making a strong start to the Year of the Snake were also major themes as local authorities managing SOEs across the country set out their agendas for the year. The moves come as China focuses on finding fresh drivers of economic growth amid rising external uncertainties and intensifying competition with the United States.
“Amid new circumstances, tasks and goals, Beijing’s state-owned assets and enterprises must continue to serve as a cornerstone of the capital’s high-quality economic and social development,” said a readout from 2025 work meeting of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) in Beijing, which was released this month. The body also pledged to “make every effort to drive sustained improvement in the state-owned economy, shoulder greater responsibilities, and deliver stronger results.” Similar rhetoric stressing SOEs’ contribution to economic growth has been echoed by other local SASAC branches – including those Hubei, Sichuan and Anhui provinces, as well as Shanghai – in recent months.
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