Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC); Weng Jieming, deputy head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and Peng Huagang, deputy secretary-general and spokesman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission answered questions on reform and development of State-owned companies at a press conference during the second session of the 13th National People's Congress on March 9, 2019.

Here are the highlights:

SOEs want less frictions for better trade environment

Chinese State-owned enterprises are willing to see fewer trade frictions, and SOEs will follow market rules to better promote trade globalization and opening-up and co-operation, said Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

A better trade environment between China and the United States is expected, so that enterprises can operate better and develop better. This is the hope of both China's SOEs and overseas enterprises, Xiao said.

He noted that SOEs, like other types of enterprises, are the subject of market competition, and develop according to market roles and marketization reform direction.

SOEs operating revenues on the increase

Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, is confident that State-owned enterprises will perform well this year.

Xiao unveiled data showing that State-owned assets' (SOE) operating revenues from January to February increased 3.9 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile profits were up 15.3 percent in the same period, and Xiao said that he sees huge potential in China's market and economy, as well as SOEs' reform and development.

Central SOEs in 2018 recorded sales revenues of 29.1 trillion yuan, with net profits of 1.2 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.7 percent on last year, while the average debt ratio declined 0.6 percentage points, according to Xiao.

Chinese SOEs' BRI projects faring well

Projects undertaken by China's state-owned enterprises under the Belt and Road Initiative have been faring well and are playing increasingly important roles, the country's top SOEs regulator said Saturday.

The BRI is welcomed by a growing number of countries and regions as BRI projects have helped creat jobs and develop local economies, Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual legislative session.

Xiao said it is required by the commission that SOEs should abide by internationally accepted rules as well as local laws and regulations in BRI projects, to ensure the quality, sustainability and long-term profitability of the projects.

More action coming to promote SOE upgrades, reshuffling

More measures to promote structural optimization and reshuffling for China's State-owned enterprises are in the pipeline, said Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, on Saturday.

The measures would include further facilitating strategic restructuring for SOEs in several areas, such as equipment manufacturing, ship manufacturing, chemical production, electricity generation, non-ferrous metal, steel, marine equipment and environmental protection.

China wants to build world-class SOEs

China hopes to build a group of world-class, role-model, State-owned enterprises that lead in high quality development, said Weng Jieming, deputy head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, on Saturday during a media conference.

In the past, regulators paid more attention to the scale of a SOE's revenue, but for the next stage, more attention will be placed on SOEs' return on areas such as net assets, revenue margin, investment on research and development, and added value, so that a SOE will not only be a leader in terms of revenue scale, but stands out for development quality and efficiency, he said.