(Yicai) Jan. 10 -- Government departments have done initial research for the legislation on promoting China’s private economy, but a relatively advanced draft has not yet been prepared, people familiar with the matter told Yicai.

Since the start of the year, China’s legislature and government departments have stressed the need to speed up the legislative process of the law on the promotion of the private economy.

The Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress released a report on the deliberations of deputies’ proposals on Jan. 8, stating that there is a “clear need for legislation” to promote the development of the private economy.

The report suggested that government departments strengthen research and demonstration, and when the conditions are ripe, include the law in the legislative agenda of the NPC’s Standing Committee. It has yet to be added.

The committee’s comments followed a Jan. 2 statement by Zheng Shajie, director of the National Development and Reform Commission, that among the measures to promote the private economy this year, the first is to accelerate the legislative process for such a law, thereby providing legal guarantees for the development of the private economy.

Entrepreneurs have been calling on the state in recent years to introduce special laws to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the private economy.

China has introduced a series of policy measures over the past year to promote the development and growth of the private economy, but the expectations of market participants remain low, said Huang Yiping, deputy dean of the National School of Development at Peking University. 

Some entrepreneurs, especially those in the private sector, are still not confident because they are unsure whether these policies can be implemented and how long they will last, Huang said.

Legislation should be passed to restrain government intervention, especially in the financial, land, and labor markets, according to Tian Xuan, deputy dean of Tsinghua University's PBC School of Finance. At the same time, judicial reform should be supported to fairly address disputes between companies and between companies and the government, he said.

Other experts said the focus of the legislation should be to make detailed provisions and guarantees for private economic entities in the fields of property rights protection, market access, investment and financing, and fair competition, reducing prohibitions and restrictions.

The legislation should also protect the lawful rights and interests of private economic entities, especially the rights and interests of private entrepreneurs, they noted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev