Qingdao's private economy continued to expand last year, according to the Qingdao municipal bureau of statistics.

Official data showed that last year private investment in the eastern coastal city increased by 20.9 percent, 13.8 percentage points higher than the previous year.

Supported by a series of policies to help private enterprises, the city's private sector has become the major engine of economic development. In 2019, private investment accounted for 52.5 percent of all investment in the city and represented 51.1 percent of the city's investment growth. 

The city's private economy sector created 609,600 jobs in 2019, accounting for 81.81 percent of new local urban jobs.

Last year Qingdao announced 44 investment projects funded by top 500 private enterprises, 648 projects involving new industries, business types and models, and six unicorn enterprise projects, covering sectors such as next-generation information technology, artificial intelligence, high-end equipment and new materials, and modern services.

Local officials said that the projects would play a vital role in promoting innovation-powered development and turn the city into an economic heavyweight. New industries and business strategies have also become a greater driving force for economy amid rapid technological development, market upgrading and government efforts to boost mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

Qingdao, Shandong province [Photo/WeChat account: qdfbwx]

The imports and exports of private enterprises reached 353.25 billion yuan ($50.23 billion), increasing by 21.5 percent over the previous year. It accounted for 59.6 percent of the city's total foreign trade, an increase of 5 percentage points over the previous year.

Local private enterprises have seized the opportunities offered by the Belt and Road Initiative to boost foreign trade. Last year their imports and exports to countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road reached 107.88 billion yuan, up 42.2 percent year on year and accounting for 30.5 percent of the total, up from 26.1 percent in 2018.

Statistics showed that by December 2019, there were nearly 1.51 million private business entities in Qingdao, accounting for 97.86 percent of the city's total. Among them, 315,400 were registered with the local commercial and industrial administration in 2019.

In 2019, five companies in Qingdao were selected as "little giants", six as "unicorns", and 22 as "hidden champions". More than 650 new high-tech enterprises were established in the city.

"Little giants" are companies with annual revenue of 100 to 400 million yuan and annual profit growth of at least 10 percent. Unicorns refer to privately held start-up companies valued at over $1 billion.

"Hidden champions" is a term coined by German author Hermann Simon to describe small but highly specialized world-market leaders who are almost unknown to the outside world.