China to inspect local govts following private investment slowdown

BEIJING - The State Council is planning to dispatch inspectors in mid-July to regions that have huge but sharply slowed private investment.

The inspection teams will consist of officials from the National Development and Reform Commission and other relevant departments, according to a notice released by the General Office of the State Council on Monday.

The notice did not specify which provincial-level regions will be targeted.

The State Council will also inspect the implementation of measures streamlining administration, overhauling market regulation and optimizing government services in the second half of 2016.

Official data showed that private fixed-asset investment increased 3.9 percent year on year in the first five months of 2016, compared with an 11.4-percent growth in the same period last year.

A State Council executive meeting on June 22 revealed some local governments' failure to fully implement the pro-private investment measures as was found during official surveys in May.

Private firms were treated unequally, having difficulty raising funds and suffering from heavy financial burden, according to the surveys.

Monday's State Council notice asked local governments to mend their ways and do as required by a string of documents released since the incumbent central government was formed.

The notice reiterated commitments to widen market access, create a level playing field and reduce financial burden for private investors.

The private sector created about 60 percent of China's GDP and around 80 percent of jobs. Private fixed-asset investment accounted for more than 60 percent of the total.

It is significant to boost private investment that can help steady economic growth, create jobs and facilitate supply-side structural reform, said the notice.