"Better protection of private property will benefit the national economy and society as a whole," said Bao Yujun, vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, also known as the chamber of commerce.

Bao said he was happy to see the report to the just-concluded Party congress underline the important role the private sector plays in stimulating economic growth, creating more jobs and invigorating the market.

He said he felt "even more inspired" by the portion of the report that urges the nation to improve the legal system that protects private property.

The Constitution of the People's Republic of China, civil law, criminal law and other kinds of legislation do contain clauses for the protection of private property, but analysts insist they are not perfect.

Bao proposed further modifications to the Constitution to ensure stronger State protection of private property.

The Constitution stipulates public property is "sacred and inviolable." It bans the destruction of public properties "by any organizations or individuals by any means."

The Constitution does not offer the same specific level of protection for private property, although it says the country must protect its citizens' legitimate income, bank deposits and homes.

The 1999 amendment to the country's Constitution upgraded the non-public economy from a "complement to the State-owned economy" to "an important constituting part" of the socialist market economy.

The amendment has been widely regarded as a milestone in the promotion of private enterprise in China.

However, Bao said the Constitution should stipulate protection of private property in language as clear and strong as that applied to public property.

"The better private property is protected, the more contributions the private sector will make to the national economy," Bao said.

"The sense of security, in both economic and political terms, will still the qualms of investors and encourage them to expand their businesses," he added.

Private enterprises are defined as private businesses employing more than eight people. Those with fewer than eight employees fall into the category of individual businesses in China.

The Party report says that all legitimate income, from work or not, should be protected.

Entrepreneurs and technical personnel employed by non-public scientific and technological enterprises, managerial and technical staff employed by overseas-funded enterprises, the self-employed, private entrepreneurs, employees in intermediary companies, freelance professionals and members of other social strata are all builders of socialism with Chinese characteristics and their legitimate rights and interests should be protected, the report says.

Bao said this message has given the private sector new hope.

"The next step and key issue is how lawmakers can translate the spirit of the Party report into legal language and how concrete measures can be spelled out for governments at all levels," he said.

A new round of legislation is needed to clear away barriers to further develope the private sector, Bao added.

His federation, which represents non-government enterprises in China, has been active in the quest for better protection of private property and a fair and level playing field for private enterprises, Bao said.

A proposal raised by the federation this March called for equal protection of private property to be addressed at the annual full session of the Ninth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a major political advisory body in the nation.

That proposal also urges that it should be made clear in the Constitution whether the nation will exercise nationalization or expropriation.

"Without such a stipulation, the future of some private enterprises remains unknown, and that can be socially destabilizing," the proposal states.

The nation now has more than 1.7 million privately run domestic enterprises representing total investments of 1.1 trillion yuan (US$132.85 billion) and a labour force of 27 million, statistics show.

(China Daily November 22, 2002)