That was the consensus reached by private entrepreneurs taking part in the ninth national congress of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, also known as China's general chamber of commerce.

All private entrepreneurs -- including those from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan Province -- felt upbeat about the stance of the Party on the promotion of the private sector.

Annie Wu, chairman of the executive committee of World Trade Centers Association (Hong Kong), said she preferred to cooperate with private entrepreneurs because most of them act in a straight-forward manner and are serious about what they are doing.

Wu has invested a total of US$100 million in the mainland since she established the country's first joint venture in 1980. She said the national strategy of developing the vast western hinterland will bring more opportunities to the private sector with small and medium-sized enterprises prospering.

"I believe that private entrepreneurs, now they have been reassured of a promising future, will seek to expand their business further and this is certainly good for the national economy," said Johnny Lin, chairman of the Taiwan Merchant Association in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province.

But the government should make corporation registration and taxation procedures more concise and easier to understand, said Zhang Wenzhong, chairman of Beijing-based Wu Mart Group, a supermarket chain.

(China Daily November 26, 2002)