Provincial Party Committee Secretary Holds Talks with Entrepreneurs Including Li Xiaojia, Yao Jinbo, Yu Minhong, and Zhang Wenzhong

How can AI and Heilongjiang policies help create a new chapter for the private economy?

On March 17, the 26th Annual Meeting of the China Entrepreneurs Forum at Yabuli opened. Secretary of Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee Xu Qin presided over the meeting, with Governor Liang Huiling and Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce Wang Hongyan attending.

At the meeting, several entrepreneurs spoke successively, including:

• Li Xiaojia, Forum rotating chair and founder of Drip Irrigation;姚劲波, co-chair and chairman of 58.com; Yu Minhong, chairman of New Oriental; Zhang Wenzhong, founder of WuMart; Ding Jian, partner at GSR Ventures; Zhang Yichen, chairman of CITIC Capital; Xie Chengrun, CEO of China Biological Pharmaceutical; Ouyang Jian, CEO of Kunlun Chip; Chen Qingzhou, chairman of Hytera; Liu Peichao, chairman of Yuejiang Technology; Xu Gang, EVP of Airbus; and Xiong Xiaoge, founding partner of IDG Capital.

That day, the 26th Annual Meeting of the China Entrepreneurs Forum at Yabuli officially opened.

Several key points are worth noting.

First, the China Entrepreneurs Forum at Yabuli.

The forum is a platform for entrepreneurs to exchange ideas, established in 2001, with its winter annual meeting held regularly in Heilongjiang Province. Each year, outstanding entrepreneurs and experts from various industries gather to discuss the hottest topics in China’s economy.

In recent years, the annual meetings have been held on these dates and themes:

• March 17, 2023: The 23rd Annual Meeting and Heilongjiang Industrial Investment and Opening-up Cooperation Conference, themed “Promoting Entrepreneurial Spirit for High-Quality Development.”

• February 21, 2024: The 24th Annual Meeting, themed “Building a New Development Pattern to Promote High-Quality Growth.”

• February 21, 2025: The 25th Annual Meeting, themed “Cultivating New Production Capabilities and Empowering High-Quality Development.”

• March 17, 2026: The 26th Annual Meeting, themed “Confidence, Opportunities, and a New Chapter.”

Following the advice of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, starting in 2023, the term of the rotating chair of the Yabuli forum was revised from one year to two years, with a co-chair position established. Yu Minhong was the first to serve a two-year term. In 2024, Li Xiaojia will succeed Yu Minhong as the new co-chair.

In December 2025,姚劲波 was elected as the co-chair for 2026. Meanwhile, new board members include Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Yushu Technology; Zhang Yichen, chairman of CITIC Capital; and Zhang Ligang, founder, chairman, and CEO of Aikang Group.

Second, supporting the development of private enterprises.

Helping Chinese companies grow healthily and the private economy develop with high quality is a key goal of the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum.

China places great importance on the development of the private economy.

“Developing and strengthening the private economy” was included in the 14th Five-Year Plan. The plan emphasizes implementing laws to promote the private economy; improving comprehensive service systems; establishing regular communication and problem-solving mechanisms between government and enterprises; guiding private companies to improve governance and management; and promoting healthy growth of the private sector and entrepreneurs.

Currently, the scale of China’s private economy continues to expand, becoming an increasingly important force for stabilizing growth and employment. By the end of May 2025, there were 185 million private economic organizations nationwide, accounting for 96.76% of all business entities, with a year-on-year increase of 2.3%. Among them, the number of private enterprises exceeded 58 million, up 5.2%.

The private economy features “five six seven eight nine”: contributing over 50% of taxes, over 60% of GDP, over 70% of technological innovation achievements, over 80% of urban employment, and over 90% of enterprises.

The relatively weak state of the private economy is a challenge for Heilongjiang’s development. Data shows that in the first quarter of 2025, Heilongjiang had 646,000 private enterprises, a 6% increase; private investment grew rapidly by 17.9%, with an acceleration of 7.5 percentage points over the previous year, surpassing the national growth rate by 17.5 percentage points.

Third, “continuously optimizing the business environment and wholeheartedly providing services and support.”

The private economy is a vital force for Heilongjiang’s comprehensive revitalization. In recent years, Heilongjiang has taken multiple measures to support private sector development.

In November 2022, Heilongjiang issued the “Several Opinions on Revitalizing and Developing the Private Economy,” affectionately called the “45 Policies for Private Economy.” These policies aim to boost market confidence, expand development space, create transparent government services, establish fair legal environments, facilitate efficient financial services, foster good government-business relations, and promote healthy growth of entrepreneurs.

In September 2024, Heilongjiang released “Several Policy Measures to Support and Encourage the Healthy Development of the Private Economy,” which focus on stimulating private investment, ensuring development factors, upgrading quality, and creating a top-tier business environment.

Additionally, the provincial government’s work report for 2024 also mentioned efforts to promote high-quality private sector development, increase credit support, strengthen coordination with state-owned enterprises and industry chains, and support key enterprises to expand and improve efficiency.

At the March 17 meeting, Xu Qin stated that Heilongjiang “insists on leading industrial innovation through technological innovation, developing new production capabilities suited to local conditions, and building a modern industrial system to promote healthy and high-quality growth of the private economy.”

He emphasized that the provincial government will continue to optimize the business environment and provide wholehearted support, helping entrepreneurs build confidence, seize opportunities, and create a new chapter.

Liang Huiling expressed hope that entrepreneurs will better grasp national development strategies, find the right entry points and focus areas in Heilongjiang’s high-quality revitalization, share development opportunities, and achieve mutual benefits and win-win results.

Entrepreneurs stated they will continue to leverage their capital and technological platforms, actively embrace the wave of digital and intelligent economy, and contribute to Heilongjiang’s development, writing a new chapter.

Reporter: Meng Yaxu