China's 150 million entrepreneurs and freelance professionals
are being recognized alongside workers, farmers and intellectuals
as a new pillar of China's society and economic development.
The Outlook Weekly, Xinhua's news magazine, reports
that entrepreneurs and professionals contributed one third of the
country's total tax revenues.
Emerging as a new economic force they include private enterprise
owners, technicians and management professionals and free agent
professionals such as doctors and lawyers.
These well educated, highly motivated professionals and business
people provided more than 50 percent of the country's technical
patents.
Previously, during China state-planned economy, people were
either workers, farmers and intellectuals.
The United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) recognized business people and
professionals as a new pillar of socialism with Chinese
characters.
Statistics show that the group has already made a significant
contribution to China's society. In China's prosperous Zhejiang and
Jiangsu provinces, private enterprises contribute about half of
each province's tax revenues.
The United Front Work Department said over the past 10 years,
the country's private enterprises create nearly six million new
jobs each year, about 75 percent of the annual total.
The department also noted that some business people and
professionals have made generous charitable donations to
society.
(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2006)