More foreign companies invited to join in SOE reform

Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), answers questions at a press conference on reform and development of state-owned enterprises on the sidelines of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing, March 10, 2018. [Xu Jingxing/China Daily]

Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said on Saturday that China will welcome more foreign companies to participate in domestic SOE’s mixed-ownership reform.

China also would encourage more SOEs to compete and cooperate with major firms of other countries in the global arena, he said at a press conference during the annual sessions of the 13th National People’s Congress and the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

China’s State-owned enterprises should learn more from world-class enterprises while engaging in more cooperation with those elite companies, Xiao said.

Top companies worldwide are welcome to cooperate with Chinese enterprises through either mixed-ownership reform or other types of cooperation, as the country seeks to promote the strengths of its SOEs.

China will deepen SOE reform and develop the mixed-ownership economy to promote world-class enterprises with global competitiveness, according to the 19th National Congress of the CPC in October.

China so far has had three rounds of pilot central SOEs mixed-ownership reform, with some firms, such as the country’s telecom giant China Unicom, having introduced non-State investors. The results of the reform have been broadly positive, Xiao said.

China will accelerate its SOE mixed-ownership reforms, Xiao added.