(Yicai Global) Nov. 2 -- Leading entrepreneurs at some of China's biggest private tech firms have called on the government to continue to support the sector at a symposium attended presided over by President Xi in Beijing yesterday.

China will unswervingly encourage, support and guide the development of the private sector and support firm's development towards a broader stage, Xi emphasized at the, after encouraging private entrepreneurs to have firm confidence in development in a letter he wrote on Oct. 20.

Leading figures for China's tech sector in attendance included Tencent Chief Executive Pony Ma, Baidu President Robin Li, Xiaomi President Lei Jun, SenseTime founder Sean Tang and DJI founder Frank Wang.

President Xi outlined six measures to facilitate the development of China's private sector and help solve difficulties faced by private firms, including offering tax relief for companies, expanding financing channels, creating an equal business environment, improving policy implementation, building close but upright relations between the government and businesses, and protecting entrepreneurs' personal safety and properties, according to Zhang Jindong, head of Suning, who was in attendance.

"President Xi presided over the symposium and expressed his concerns the private sector while offering support. This definitely boost our confidence," Zhang said.

In terms of listed companies, Tencent's market value is about CNY2.6 trillion (USD383 billion), while that of Baidu and Xiaomi is about USD66 billion and USD40 billion, respectively. Suning is worth some CNY108 billion (USD15.9 billion) and Neusoft Corporation's market capitalization is CNY12.2 billion. As for non-listed firms, SenseTime's value exceeds USD4.5 billion and DJI is valued at more than USD10 billion. The total value of the technology firms present at the symposium was over USD400 billion.

China's artificial intelligence sector has encountered obstacles in its development recently, SenseTime's Sean Tang said, adding that the industry lacks scientific positioning and overall planning. Companies' positioning in the sector tends to be homogenous and repeated, and the AI sector is rushing for quick success without deep integration between technologies and development, he added.

China also needs international cooperation to develop its original technologies, Tang said. The current international environment has caused problems regarding cooperation in basic research, especially in deep cooperation with academic institutions in developed countries. Most of China's industries that have gone abroad are about major infrastructure of state-owned enterprises, he said, while private high-tech companies have not yet been exported on a large scale.

"AI is not an independent sector but a technology that can help traditional industries improve their production efficiency, Tang said. "I suggest the government invests limited resources in improving AI that can help the real economy and traditional industries and provide more scenarios for AI applications."