Why China’s private firms aren’t convinced the law will protect them
- Despite Beijing’s promises to support the sector, entrepreneurs still fear government intervention in the legal process for political aims
China’s private sector, the driving force behind the country’s economic miracle over the last 40 years, is struggling amid the Chinese government’s campaign to reduce national debt and the trade war with the United States. This is the final story in a series detailing the challenges private firms face and outlining the government’s attempts to address them.
When supermarket tycoon Zhang Wenzhong spoke at this year’s Yabuli forum of entrepreneurs, his message struck right at the heart of what keeps private business owners in China awake at night.
The 56-year-old founder of Wumart Stores, one of the country’s biggest retailers, had just resurfaced in public having spent seven years in prison before being freed when his conviction for fraud, bribery and embezzlement was overturned.
“Without outside intervention or influence, no law enforcement agency – police, prosecutors or courts – would have reached such a verdict against me under normal circumstances, creating a case so unjust that it is now easily judged as a mistake,” he told the annual gathering in northeastern Heilongjiang in February.
He went on to issue a chilling warning to anyone running a business in China’s government-controlled environment.
“This doesn’t just concern me – it concerns all entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship,” Zhang said, reading from a letter he had written.
