Senior leader Jia Qingling has urged Communist Party and government officials at all levels to give their unswerving support to the development of the private sector.

Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks at a forum on the development of the private sector that opened in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, on Friday.

Jia is also a member of the powerful Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The forum was jointly hosted by the CPPCC economic committee, the State Development and Reform Commission and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, a federation of private businesses.

"Under the correct leadership of and with great support from the Party, the private sector in China has been growing steadily and has made a positive contribution to the building of an affluent society and the advancement of socialist modernization," Jia said.

Statistics released in September by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce show that China's private sector accounts for 65 percent of GDP (gross domestic product), and the figure is expected to reach three quarters in just five years.

"In an era full of opportunities and challenges, private businesses must grasp these opportunities and integrate their own development with that of the nation, balance the pursuit of private wealth with the welfare of the common people and link the observation of market forces with that of socialistic morals," he said.

Jia urged private businesses to be both big and strong, to give priority to innovation and intellectual property rights, to build their own brands and explore the international market with greater courage.

He also called on private businesses to protect the legal rights of their employees, improve their working conditions and take a more active role in charity work.

(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2006)