China hosted a high-level symposium on the high-quality development of private enterprises in Beijing on Feb 17, gathering entrepreneurs from leading private businesses.

Six representatives of private entrepreneurs — Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu, New Hope Group Chairman Liu Yonghao, Will Semiconductor Chairman Yu Renrong, Unitree Robotics CEO Wang Xingxing, and Xiaomi Chairman Lei Jun spoke at the symposium. They shared their opinions and advice on the development of the private sector.

Qi Xiangdong, chairman of QAX Group, who also attended the symposium said in a media interview: "As a company in the cybersecurity industry, we will focus on our core business through technological innovation, contributing even more to the building of China's strength in cyberspace and the development of the digital economy."

Wang Xing, chairman of Meituan, said that "We will embrace emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, take active measures to expand consumption, explore technological innovation in drone delivery and driverless delivery, and strive to go global to overseas markets".

Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFlytek, pledged more efforts to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem and develop multilingual technologies, using AI to build a better world in the new era of private sector development.

Wang Xingxing, CEO of Unitree Robotics, is a young entrepreneur born in the 1990s. The company gained wide attention when its humanoid robots performed a Chinese folk dance at this year's Spring Festival Gala. He said his firm will increase R&D investment, develop new products, and continue to explore new paths for growth.

Their visions and convictions are a reflection of the rapid development of China's internet industry. A report released by the China Internet Network Information Center on Jan 17 revealed that by December 2024, the internet penetration rate in China had reached 78.6 percent, with 1.108 billion internet users. It has the world's largest and most technologically advanced internet infrastructure, as well as the largest online retail market and user base. As of December 2024, the number of ".cn" domain names reached 20.82 million, maintaining a global lead for 10 consecutive years.

According to The China Private Enterprises Social Responsibility Report (2024) published by All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, private enterprises currently contribute over 70 percent of China's tech innovation, constitute 80 percent of the "little giant" firms (top performers among specialized, high-end and innovation-driven SMEs), and make up over 92 percent of national high-tech enterprises.

A notable feature of the high-level symposium in Beijing was the wide participation of China's top high-tech companies, especially in the internet sector. Representatives from Alibaba Group, Tencent, QAX Group, Huawei, Meituan and iFlytek were present. Most of them are also members of the World Internet Conference (WIC).

The WIC was established as an international organization in 2022, aiming to build a global internet platform for extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. Its mission is to promote the international community to the trend of digitization, networking and intelligence in the information age, work together to address security challenges for common development, and build a community with a shared future in cyberspace.

A total of over 170 institutions, organizations, enterprises, and individuals from around 30 countries across six continents have become members of the WIC organization, including many globally renowned internet leading enterprises, established industry organizations, and inductees of the Internet Hall of Fame.