After weak first-quarter investment figures added to concerns about the outlook for China's economy, one of the government's most powerful policymaking bodies commissioned a study of private businesses to discover how to turn it around.
That report, seen by Bloomberg, contained a slew of policy proposals that altogether would amount to one of the biggest openings to private businesses in China since the 1990s. Recommendations include allowing private companies greater access to restricted industries, introducing rules to protect the rights of private investors, reducing official meddling and encouraging business people to participate in the policymaking process.
Not long after the report was submitted in the summer, the Communist Party's top committee on economic reform chaired by President Xi Jinping released a little-noticed guideline on Aug. 30 that echoed the language used in the study. The government would offer "comprehensive and equal protection for public and private owners of property," the statement said, including equities and intellectual property rights.