Chinese authorities met with the heads of major private companies to discuss the development of the digital economy. The government expects to grant concessions to the national big techs to help the economy recover from the lockdown.
At the meeting, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said the government supports the development of the digital sector and the listing of IT companies both at home and abroad. China wants the battle for "key core technologies" to be fought well, Liu He added.
The remarks signal further easing of the regulatory risk for China’s technology behemoths including Baidu and Tencent, Bloomberg wrote.
Regulatory measures against digital corporations in China began to be heavily enforced in late 2020, jolting markets and reducing the market value of Chinese big techs by billions of dollars.
The meeting was facilitated by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body that includes some IT executives. About 100 people attended the event, including Baidu founder Robin Li, Qihoo 360 CEO Zhou Hongyi and NetEase CEO William Ding.
Beijing expects digital companies to help revive an economy that has been negatively affected by lockdowns, declining consumption and supply chain disruptions. Last month, industrial production and consumer spending in China fell to their lowest levels since the pandemic began.
Source: Reuters
