CCTV:

In the current SOE reform, "enhancing core functions" has become a high-frequency word. Could you please introduce what SOEs have done in recent years to serve the country's economic and social development? What are the key arrangements for the next stage in this regard? Thank you.

Wang Hongzhi:

Thank you for your questions. Strengthening core functions is a clear requirement set by General Secretary Xi Jinping and the CPC Central Committee for SOEs. In recent years, the SASAC has guided central SOEs to focus on their mission and responsibilities, and advanced their efforts to assume duties with a holistic view and based on the overall situation, making positive contributions to economic and social development. These efforts are mainly reflected in three aspects.

First, central SOEs have created great material wealth, offering powerful support for increasing the country's economic strengths. As was mentioned in the opening remarks, central SOEs over the past decade have experienced a remarkable surge in their assets, revenue and profits. Central SOEs have contributed roughly one-seventh of the total national tax revenue through taxes and fees. Moreover, they submitted 1.5 trillion yuan of state capital gains and transferred 1.2 trillion yuan of state assets to social security funds. In 2023, central SOEs invested 5.1 trillion yuan in fixed assets, an 11.4% year-on-year increase, surpassing the growth rate of total fixed asset investment by 8.4 percentage points. This has bolstered confidence to stabilize social expectations.

Second, central SOEs have created significant strategic assets, offering strong support for the implementation of major national arrangements. They provide nearly 100% of the country's basic telecommunications services, 96% of power grid coverage, 67% of oil refining capacity, 54% of installed power generation and 25% of coal production. Central SOEs have served a crucial role in safeguarding energy resources and food security. They have actively contributed to the country's major strategies with regional development, including the large-scale development of the western region, the revitalization of northeast China, the rise of central China, and the trailblazing development of the eastern region. They have also provided effective support for the construction of the Xiong'an New Area and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. Moreover, we have actively expanded our international business layout, significantly facilitating the systematic export of China's technology, equipment and products.

Third, central SOEs have created great social benefits, providing strong support for ensuring and improving people's livelihood. They have proactively contributed to rural revitalization efforts, and successfully completed the task of offering assistance to 246 key impoverished counties designated in the national poverty alleviation efforts. They have taken the lead to promote green development, reducing the energy consumption per 10,000-yuan output value by 17% during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). Central SOEs have also made great efforts to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) overcome difficulties, such as maintaining low prices for telecom services, ensuring uninterrupted power supply for those in arrears during the pandemic, waiving rents as much as possible, and establishing industrial chain financial platforms to address financing challenges for enterprises upstream and downstream. Central SOEs are committed to ensuring the supply of energy resources and power, and have participated in emergency rescue and disaster relief. After a dike breach occurred in Dongting Lake earlier this month, central SOEs in the construction sector transferred over 100,000 tons of rock and enterprises such as the China Anneng Construction Group Corporation worked day and night to plug the breached dike. Thanks to these efforts, the task was brought to completion 13 hours ahead of schedule. Throughout this period, enterprises in the sectors of energy, power, telecommunications and food maintained uninterrupted 24-hour services, demonstrating central SOEs' strong sense of duty in tough situations.

Going forward, we will make stepped-up efforts to enhance the "values" in five aspects in a bid to ensure that enterprises can better fulfill their functions and responsibilities. First, we will enhance the added value. This aims to increase the overall contribution of central SOEs to GDP, and carry out added value accounting of the public sector. Second, we will enhance the function value. To achieve this, we will establish an evaluation system for state-owned enterprises in fulfilling their strategic missions so that we're able to evaluate enterprises' operational performances and their overall contributions in a more scientific manner. Third, we will improve the added value of economy. To achieve this goal, we will strengthen the mindset of "calculating first, investing later," and optimize the allocation and layout of state capital in a bid to improve value creation capability. Fourth, we will increase the share of revenue and added value made by strategic emerging industries, and make greater efforts to foster innovation-driven, higher-quality growth. Fifth, we will enhance brand value. To this end, we will foster more brands in central SOEs, ensuring their superior quality, outstanding advantages and independent intellectual property rights. By doing so, central SOEs' brand image will be enhanced. Thank you.