By staff reporter ZHOU CHANG

    SINCE the emergence of China’s first private business in 1980, the proportion of private enterprises in the national economy has grown steadily and swiftly. In 2004 the government enacted an amendament for the protection of private property in the Constitution, and in the following years created a series of policies that encouraged individual entrepreneurship. These efforts prompted a wave of start-up businesses and formed the catalyst for the rapid development of the private sector. Despite the impact of the global financial crisis, in 2008 China’s private economy still experienced faster growth than seen in the previous four years. By the end of 2008, the number of registered private enterprises had reached 6.59 million nationwide, with a registered capital of RMB 11.74 trillion; and the percentage of private enterprises to domestically funded ones increased to 70.9 percent from 63 percent in 2007, generating nine million additional job opportunities.

University graduate Zhang Wenliang opened his cycling gear shop in 2008.                                                    Cnsphoto

    Grassroots Effort

    Xu Wengang, a 36-year-old rural villager of Suqian City in coastal Jiangsu Province, got himself a job at a local factory after graduating from junior middle school. By 2009 he had brought his monthly income up to over US $400; together with his wife’s earnings from her part time work and the income from their crops, their budget supports a relatively stable and affluent life.

    Back in 2001, Xu invented a new type of expansile screw, and applied for a patent. However, he carried on with his factory job, never giving another thought to prototyping his invention and developing a new product.

    It was not until April 2009, through the encouragement of the local government and the support of his family, that Xu made up his mind to resign and start his own business. In the beginning, due to lack of funds for setting up his own factory, Xu had to contract out the production to a partner and only sold the products himself. He was often away from home for weeks on marketing trips.

    Before he saw any substantial sales revenue, his partner developed financial troubles that forced him to withdraw from the joint venture. Fortunately, a friend of hapless Xu came to his rescue, suggesting he sign up as a contestant for the Fourth Suqian City Entrepreneurship Competition in October. Xu took first place, winning a prize of US $500 and a start-up fund of nearly US $5,000. That event helped him realize the first step in having his own business in his hometown – his dream.

    Although Suqian is part of the prosperous east coast, it is one of the few conservative exceptions in the region, economically underdeveloped and relatively backward. Local villagers are content with a simple and easy life as long as they have enough to eat and wear. Even creative minds like Xu would typically hang back from venturing into something unknown.

    However, the local government is determined to disturb the stagnent conditions by developing the local economy. In recent years, it has spared no efforts to encourage and guide local people to explore entrepreneurial ventures. The Entrepreneurship Competition is one of the vehicles. A municipal government official in charge of the event told China Today: “The professional knowledge that private enterprise requires is teachable, but entrepreneurial spirit, enthusiasm and confidence needs a nurturing environment and a longer process to foster. These are aims of the competition.”

    The efforts have paid off. In 2008, over 40,000 private companies and individual industrial and commercial entities were established among the local population of 5.3 million, resulting in a 40 percent year-on-year rise in tax revenues for the city.