Beijing: Chinese official Li Qiang met with prominent firms in the country and signalled the end of China's years-long crackdown on the tech industry.
He called on them to play a more active role in supporting the country's economy.
During the meeting, Premier Li listened to suggestions from various companies, including Pinduoduo, JD.com, ByteDance's Douyin, Alibaba's cloud unit, Meituan, and Huolala, to make regulation of platform firms more transparent and predictable.
The meeting comes after last week's indications from Chinese authorities that the regulatory crackdown, which began in late 2020, has concluded. Fines were imposed on Ant Group and Tencent as part of the campaign, which resulted in a significant decrease in the combined market value of major players. Since December, Beijing's stance has gradually shifted, emphasising the need to revitalise the expansive online platform sector as the economy recovers at a slower-than-anticipated pace after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
Premier Li expressed confidence in the majority of platform enterprises, urging them to promote innovation, empower the real economy, and contribute to breakthroughs. He also called on governments at all levels to create a fair and competitive market environment and improve investment access policies.
The recent developments have led to a positive market response, with shares in certain U.S.-listed Chinese firms rallying in premarket trade. Alibaba Group Holding saw a gain of 2.2%, while Pinduoduo rose by 2.7%. However, despite the softened tone from authorities, some fund managers remain cautious about the sector due to expectations of future stringent regulation and concerns about the domestic economy.
Zhou Hao, the economist at Guotai Junan International, viewed Wednesday's meeting as a positive signal, highlighting the significance of sound development of the platform economy for long-term investor valuation. He emphasised the importance of prudent development by platform firms.