Xi held a meeting with business luminaries including Alibaba's Jack Ma in Beijing on Monday, with state news agency Xinhua reporting the Chinese leader as saying the problems facing private firms were "surmountable".
The remarks signalled a potential about-face from Xi, who has strengthened the role of state enterprises in the world's second-largest economy and cracked down on "disorderly" expansion in several industries in recent years.
China is battling slowing economic growth amid a real-estate crisis, persistently low consumption and high youth unemployment.
State media broadcast a procession of business luminaries at the meeting proclaiming their faith in the future of the private economy.
"I believe the private sector now has the greatest confidence," Wang Chuanfu, head of electric-vehicle giant BYD, said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
"As long as we have faith, we can run our businesses better and better," he said.
Lei Jun, CEO of consumer tech titan Xiaomi, said the talks "multiplied confidence for us private entrepreneurs", CCTV reported.
Beijing has rolled out a slew of policies to create jobs and get people to spend more in order to boost growth, but they have had a limited effect so far.
Xi portrayed private sector challenges as a result of reform and industrial transformation but said they were temporary and "surmountable rather than unsolvable".
He urged attendees on Monday to "unify thought and action" around the ruling Communist Party's economic policies, "see the prospects, see the light, and see the future".
Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba and one of China's most recognisable businessmen, was pictured applauding Xi as he entered the venue in Beijing. State media did not report any remarks by Ma.
State media footage showed that the participants also included Tencent chief Pony Ma and Liang Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek, the artificial intelligence firm whose chatbot has caused a global stir in recent weeks.
China's Baidu posts slight decline in annual revenue
Beijing (AFP) Feb 18, 2025 -
Chinese internet giant Baidu on Tuesday announced a one percent decline in revenue last year, as the firm seeks a bigger presence in artificial intelligence while facing increased domestic competition.
The Beijing-based firm operates China's main search engine and has long been a key player in the Chinese tech industry, up against rivals including Tencent and Alibaba.
Baidu derives a large part of its revenue from advertising, a sector vulnerable to fluctuations in consumer sentiment, and has sought to diversify with cloud computing, self-driving cars and AI.
The firm said revenue dipped two percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, rounding off an overall annual decline of one percent.
"While navigating near-term pressures, we are confident that our strategic AI investments will drive meaningful progress and foster long-term success", He Junjie, Baidu's interim chief financial officer, said in the Tuesday filing.
In a more positive sign, net income rose 100 percent in the fourth quarter to $711 million.
That helped Baidu post an annual net income of $3.26 billion, up 17 percent from 2023.
Last year was "a pivotal year in our ongoing transformation from an internet-centric to an AI-first business", Baidu co-founder and CEO Robin Li said.
Baidu shares in Hong Kong slid around seven percent Monday after Li was not spotted at a rare meeting between President Xi Jinping and business leaders in Beijing. They ended slightly higher on Tuesday.
Related Links
Satellite-based Internet technologies
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
