Catenaa, Friday, March 07, 2025– China will set up a government-backed venture capital guidance fund in the near future that will mobilize $138.01 billion from social capital to support technology startups, country’s top economic regulator said on Thursday.
“In the near future, we will establish a national venture capital guidance fund, with the goal of enhancing, strengthening and expanding innovative enterprises,” Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission said.
The “national venture capital guidance fund” – an investment vehicle set up as a public-private partnership – would focus on “hard technology”, Zheng told a news conference, referring to areas such as semiconductors and renewable energy.
The fund will maintain long-term investment cycles, increasing tolerance for risk, and invest in technology enterprises through market-based approaches, he said.
The initiative came after the Government Work Report, released on Wednesday during the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, specified that the country will strive to develop new quality productive forces in light of local conditions and accelerate the development of a modernized industrial system, requiring properly handling the relationships between fostering new growth drivers and upgrading old ones.
As part of efforts to spur domestic demand, an action plan to boost consumption will also be rolled out soon, Zheng said.
China said on Wednesday it would boost support for the application of artificial intelligence (AI) models and the development of venture capital investment, in a bid to foster more technology breakthroughs and become more self-reliant.
Zheng said China’s emerging industries continued their rapid expansion in 2024. The so-called “three new” economy—a collection of economic activities with new industries, new business formats and new business models—accounted for over 18% of China’s GDP last year.
