The Fourth Summit on Rule of Law Construction in the Private Economy was held on Aug 18 in Beijing. Hosted by the All China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), and supported by the Supreme People's Court (SPC), the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the China Law Society (CLS), the summit aimed to summarize the achievements and experiences in the rule of law construction in the private economy in the new era, especially after the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress, so as to propel the construction of a law-based business environment and private enterprises under the rule of law.

Gao Yunlong, chairman of the ACFIC, Zhou Qiang, president of the SPC, Zhang Jun, Procurator-general of the SPP, Chen Xunqiu, executive vice-chairman of the CLS, Sun Maoli, vice-minister of the MPS, and Zuo Li, vice-minister of the MOJ, attended the event and delivered keynote speeches. Xu Lejiang, executive vice-chairman of the ACFIC, presided over the summit.  

Gao acknowledged the achievements of rule of law construction in the private economy in the new era. Noting that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Party's policies on united front work, he urged more efforts to be made to further implement the central leadership's instructions on carrying out united front work in the new era to optimize the business environment, foster a cordial and clean relationship between government and businesses, and build a law-based private economy.

He urged federations of industry and commerce across all levels and affiliated chambers of commerce to proactively contribute to the modernization of the national governance system and capacity.

Zhou said that courts across the nation have striven to improve judicial policies to benefit enterprises and relieve their burdens, as well as to strengthen judicial protection over property rights, maintain fair competition orders of the market according to the law, focus on optimizing a law-based business environment, and promote the construction of the one-stop diversified dispute resolution and litigation service system, so that the legitimate rights and interests of private enterprises and entrepreneurs can be protected, and the development of the private economy well supported. He pledged that people's courts will better play their function of carrying out trials, and further improve the judicial policy system to support the development of the private economy. Courts nationwide will strengthen protection of self-reliant innovation achievements, optimize right protection channels for private enterprises, promote entrepreneurship and provide stronger judicial services for the development of the private economy, Zhou added.  

Zhang urged procuratorial organs to work with related departments to solve the practical problems faced by private enterprises in accordance with the law, intensify communication with them while handling cases, in order to provide more targeted services. Procuratorial organs should continue to ensure equal protections with greater efforts, comprehensively and accurately implement the criminal policy of combining leniency with severity and the judicial policy of less arrests and cautious prosecutions and detentions, in order to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of private enterprises, he said. He also called for further work in litigation source governance, pilot compliance reforms in related enterprises to improve corporate crime governance.

Chen pledged to give full play to the CLS' role as "think tank" to unite all legal professionals to devote themselves to the cause of law-based governance, to provide premium legal services for private enterprises, and to offer advice and suggestions for the healthy development of the private economy.

Sun pledged that public security departments across the nation will resolutely safeguard national political security and social stability, and will fully support the construction of a law-based business environment and the private economy.

Zuo said that judicial administrative organs will focus on fostering a law-based business environment and improve the legal systems that will boost the development of the private economy by strengthening legislation, law enforcement, judicature, law popularization and compliance with the law.

Xu called on federations of industry and commerce across all levels and affiliated chambers of commerce to shoulder new responsibilities in the united front work in the new era, and pioneer new prospects in safeguarding the high-quality development of the private economy with rule of law.

The summit was held via video link both at a main venue and several side venues.