SHANGHAI: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged the heavily scrutinised railway sector to seek more private investment and rely less on state support as a key plank of its reform, the government website said yesterday.
Beijing has vowed to deepen reforms of its state-owned enterprises and to open up protected industries such as finance, petroleum, power, telecoms and railways to private investors for the first time.
“Railway construction invested solely by the government and promoted by administrative orders will not work any more,” Li was quoted as saying.
Li said that China Railway Corporation, the national railway operator, should explore ways to attract more non-governmental funds and gather experience which other state-owned enterprises could use.
“Reforming investment and financing systems will be the key to reforming the railway sector,” he said during an inspection tour of the CRC on Friday.
In April, the government said it would create a railway fund worth 200bn to 300bn yuan ($32.5bn to $48.8bn) each year.
Reuters
