Editorial | Xi’s Hong Kong letter a gesture to shore up confidence in the private sector
- The president’s reply to a letter from Hong Kong business leaders with Ningbo ancestry also sends a message that the city has always been a top source of investment for the mainland over the past 40 years and remains an important bridge between the nation and the world
There was more than gratitude expressed when Hong Kong’s business leaders with Ningbo ancestry received a rare letter from President Xi Jinping in recognition of their contribution to the country’s development. It was also seen as yet another politically symbolic gesture by the Chinese leader to shore up confidence in the private sector amid daunting challenges ahead.
The timing and choice of the receiver are arguably more significant than what is in the letter. Xi rarely shows this kind of close personal relations with private businesses.
Xinhua news agency reported that a group of businesspeople with familial ties in the mainland port city of Ningbo had earlier written to the president renewing their commitment to serving the country. Responding in a letter, Xi, who was party secretary of Zhejiang province from 2002 to 2007, acknowledged and thanked the group’s support in innovation, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and education.
He added that the building of a strong country and rejuvenating it through modernisation required all Chinese to unite and work together.
This is the second time in a decade that Xi has written to the business sector. Such a move is by no means random.
