Visitors shake hands with Unitree's H1 robot during the 26th China Hi-Tech Fair in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Nov 14. CHINA DAILY
Outside an unremarkable building in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, a humanoid robot is doing something truly remarkable. The Unitree G1, standing at 1.2 meters tall and weighing 35 kilograms, takes a martial arts stance, shifts its weight back and performs a swinging roundhouse kick, before rebalancing itself and standing up straight.
Built by Unitree Robotics, a Hangzhou-based startup, the G1 surprised viewers in January when 16 such robots performed a dance routine on China's Spring Festival Gala, which was viewed 16.8 billion times, according to China Media Group.
Unitree is one of a bevy of Chinese private tech firms making waves globally in recent months.
A visitor greets Unitree robots H1 and Go2 at the company's booth resembling a smart living room during the Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai in September. CHINA DAILY
Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek is taking on Silicon Valley with its cost-effective yet formidable large language model. Meanwhile, Ne Zha 2, the sequel to China's groundbreaking animated hit, has smashed box-office records.
Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said: "A swarm of private firms — not State-run or big names — are emerging from China, pulling off unexpected technological feats and, in some areas, even outmaneuvering global titans.
"While many Western countries, including the United States, are still considering how to restrict China's technological rise, Chinese private enterprises are rewriting the rules, pioneering innovations that redefine the entire industry," Wang said.
With the two sessions, China's annual national legislative and political advisory meetings, taking place this week, the private sector is set to take on an even larger role in the economy. Industry experts have predicted that a wave of fresh policy support will be launched in the wake of the two sessions to fuel even greater growth of the private sector.
The founders of DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics — Liang Wenfeng and Wang Xingxing — participated in a symposium on the private sector presided over by President Xi Jinping in February. Seated alongside these young entrepreneurs were some of China's most influential private-sector figures — Huawei's Ren Zhengfei, Xiaomi's Lei Jun, and Tencent's Ma Huateng.
The message was clear: China's private sector isn't just growing, it's becoming the backbone of the country's innovative development.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said at the symposium that the government's basic principles and policies concerning the development of the private sector have been incorporated into the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and will consistently be upheld and fulfilled. "They cannot and will not be changed," he said.
Xi said that as the world's second-largest economy further reforms and opens up, the country's enormous market, with a population of over 1.4 billion, will bring new opportunities for the greater development of private enterprises.
"On the new journey in the new era, the prospects for the development of the private economy are broad and promising. It is a prime time for private enterprises and entrepreneurs to give full play to their capabilities," he said.
Robots play soccer during the Global Developer Conference in Shanghai on Feb 21. CHEN HAOMING/XINHUA
Li Jin, chief research fellow at the China Enterprise Research Institute in Beijing, said that the timing of the symposium — just before the annual two sessions — showed the central government's emphasis on private enterprises and their increasingly critical role in achieving economic growth targets.
"The remarks confirmed supportive measures, showed a firm tone and offered clear encouragement to private enterprises," Li said.
At the symposium, Xi emphasized the role of private enterprises in advancing China's broader goals in technological innovation, promoting rural vitalization and improving people's well-being.
Tian Xuan, associate dean of Tsinghua University's PBC School of Finance, described the latest policy direction as "forward-looking", emphasizing the increasingly important role of private enterprises in driving China's technological breakthroughs.
"This symposium brought together both traditional manufacturing giants and cutting-edge innovators like DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics — companies making waves in AI, robotics and other frontier technologies," Tian said.
"In the medium to long term, the high-quality development of the private sector will be instrumental in ensuring China's stable economic growth. As private firms continue to push the boundaries of innovation, confidence in Chinese assets will only strengthen," he added.
Unitree robot dogs are tested during a rehearsal for a Lantern Festival gala in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Feb 11. LIN YUNLONG/FOR CHINA DAILY
Xu Hongcai, a prominent economist and deputy director of the economic policy commission of the Beijing-based China Association of Policy Science, noted that such efforts sent a clear signal. Despite shifting global trade policies and external pressures, China remains steadfast in its commitment to high-quality economic development, he said.
Xi presided over a similar symposium in 2018, which was followed by a three-year bull run in China's A-share market. At the 2018 symposium, Xi said the country would unswervingly encourage, support and guide the development of the nonpublic sector and support private enterprises to develop toward a broader stage.
The stance was reaffirmed at the 2022 Central Economic Work Conference, which emphasized that promoting the private sector's growth is a "long-term strategy", rather than a short-term measure.
In 2023, during the two sessions, Xi emphasized that the Party encouraged private enterprises and entrepreneurs to let go of their concerns and burdens and boldly pursue their development.
Xu, the economist, said: "These instances show that China's reform policies are continuous and stable. A stable policy and a good business environment will further enhance private enterprises' confidence, consistently attract more foreign investment and promote sustained economic growth."
Visitors record their moments at Game Science, the Hangzhou-based developer of popular video game Black Myth: Wukong, during the Third Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou in September. HUANG ZONGZHI/XINHUA
According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of the end of September last year, China had over 55 million registered private companies, accounting for 92.3 percent of all businesses. They contribute more than half of the country's tax revenue, over 60 percent of GDP and over 80 percent of urban employment.
Notably, they have increasingly become a key pillar of China's innovation ecosystem, contributing to over 70 percent of the nation's technological breakthroughs and making up more than 90 percent of national high-tech businesses.
With the two sessions underway, industry experts believe that fostering a business-friendly environment and creating more opportunities for the private sector will be a key spotlight.
A draft law on promoting the private sector, for instance, will be submitted to Chinese legislators for further review.
Liu Junhai, a professor and head of commercial law at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, said: "The private sector itself is a symbol of advanced productivity, and encouraging the development of the private sector will inject new productivity into economic growth in a timely manner.
"The new law on driving the private sector will be a focus of this year's two sessions. More detailed policies in treating State-owned enterprises and private enterprises equally from an institutional and legal perspective are expected," he said.
Liu added that promoting the nation's private sector should drive the equal status, common development, fair competition, mutual cooperation, equal supervision and equal protection for private enterprises, so that they can participate in market competition openly, fairly and justly.
A worker throws a four-legged robot into the air to display that it could still stand when it lands. Deep Robotics, a Hangzhou-based company that had developed it, is among leading cutting-edge innovation companies in the city. WANG GANG/CHINA NEWS SERVICE
Industry experts also said that China is expected to further enhance the long-term mechanism for private companies to participate in major national projects at the two sessions.
The country will also support capable private enterprises in leading national initiatives to make breakthroughs in major technologies and provide private enterprises with greater access to major national scientific research infrastructure, they said.
Luo Zhi, director of the research center for the new private economy at Wuhan University, said in an article that some private companies have a weak sense of gain, as in some regions, the public service system for small and medium-sized enterprises is incomplete, leading to high institutional transaction costs for private enterprises.
In recent years, an increasing number of private companies have played roles in major infrastructure projects in transportation, water conservancy and railways.
Earlier, Chinese authorities had identified a group of major scientific and technological areas that private enterprises can take a lead in, like industrial software, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, industrial internet, gene and cell medicine, and new energy storage.
The National Development and Reform Commission, the nation's economic regulator, has set up a special private sector development bureau to offer targeted support for private firms.
Among the country's latest efforts to drive the private sector, Zhang Xinghai, chairman of emerging automaker Seres and a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that he was deeply inspired and brimming with confidence in the vast potential of the private sector.
As a veteran in the automotive industry, rooted in western China's Chongqing for nearly 40 years, Zhang said that he has witnessed the transformation of China's auto sector — from expanding market access to achieving independent innovation.
In 2021, the company pioneered cross-industry collaboration between automakers and information and communications technology companies.
"The models we developed with our partners have set a new benchmark for China's premium car market, breaking the dominance of foreign brands in the luxury segment while showcasing the formidable strength of private enterprises," he said.
"The future competition in China's new energy sector is not just about technology but also about ecosystems. To maintain our leadership and build a strong automotive nation, China's auto industry must seize this historic opportunity with an open mindset, embrace cross-sector collaboration, and break industry conventions through innovation," he said.
Echoing this sentiment, Xu Guanju, chairman of Transfar Group, a leading chemicals manufacturer, said that amid intense market competition, private enterprises at this new stage of development must not only consolidate their market presence, but also prioritize technological advancements, including the development of new quality productive forces.
"Such efforts involve increasing investment in technology, using industries as platforms to tackle technical challenges, and fostering breakthroughs in product innovation, application innovation, foundational research and original cutting-edge technologies," said Xu, who is also a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature.
"The greater the challenges we face, the stronger our confidence must be. The steeper the climb, the more resolute and spirited we must become, fully integrating the development of our enterprises with the destiny of the nation," he added.
Wang from the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences said: "With unwavering government support, an influx of world-class talent and a surging global demand for Chinese innovation, the next decade is set to be a period of unprecedented growth and transformation for the private sector.
"In the years ahead, not just dozens, but potentially hundreds of private companies akin to DeepSeek and Unitree are expected to emerge in China," he said.
