The South China Morning Post (December 28) reported that 59-year old Chen Hongtian, a self-made Chinese billionaire, Chairman of the Cheung Kei Group and member of the CPPCC, warned a group of about 150 tycoons mostly based in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, that a winter “colder and longer than expected” is arriving for China’s private business entrepreneurs and Beijing’s supportive rhetoric has yet to translate into concrete policies that will help the private economy.  The tycoons are members of the Harmony Club of which Chen Hongtian is Chairman. Chen Hongtian said more than half of the Club’s members had encountered difficulties stemming from China’s trade war with the US, the economic downturn, financing difficulties and stricter regulations. Saying 10 per cent of them had “encountered very big problems”, he added “I hope the government, the banks, and the tax bureaus can help our businesses to overcome the difficulties and don’t act as the enemy of business."  He also said “We’ve gotten a strong message from the central government supporting private businesses, and we are looking forward to some concrete measures to help relieve business problems."

(Comment: The club includes Tencent chairman Pony Ma, Wang Chuanfu, the chairman of carmaker BYD, and Wang Wei, the chairman of courier service SF Express. Its members directly and indirectly control over 85 listed companies and more than 3,000 corporate entities, according to the club.)