How to promote the high-quality development of state-owned enterprises while securely achieving the equitable sharing of state capital gains among all citizens has become a major issue requiring careful planning.
During the first plenary session of the 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress on April 27, the NPC Financial and Economic Committee proposed a bill to review the draft revision of the Law on State-Owned Assets of Enterprises. This marks the first revision of the law since its implementation in May 2009. A relevant official from the committee emphasized that the draft stipulates that the use of state capital gains should balance enterprise development with public sharing.
Balancing enterprise development is an inherent requirement for strengthening, improving, and expanding state capital, and it also forms the foundation for achieving public sharing. The outline for the 15th Five-Year Plan emphasizes deepening reforms of state-owned assets and enterprises to enhance their quality and scale. Subsequently, a series of policies and measures to deepen these reforms have been introduced.
More notably, the revision places significant emphasis on improving the "public sharing" of state capital gains. By the end of 2025, the total assets of central SOEs had exceeded 95 trillion yuan. Combined with the asset scale of local SOEs, the total assets of all state-owned enterprises in China surpassed 400 trillion yuan. In 2025, central SOEs achieved a total profit of 2.5 trillion yuan, while the total profits of all SOEs exceeded 4 trillion yuan. This substantial asset base provides strong support for public sharing.
State capital has already been practicing the concept of public sharing. In December 2024, the 13th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th NPC reviewed a report by the NPC Standing Committee's law enforcement inspection team on the implementation of the Law on State-Owned Assets of Enterprises. The report showed that since 2009, central SOEs have cumulatively paid over 30 trillion yuan in taxes and fees, contributed 2.3 trillion yuan in state capital gains, and transferred 1.7 trillion yuan in state capital to the national social security fund.
Although state-owned enterprises undertake significant social functions and responsibilities, there remains considerable room for improvement in the comprehensive sharing of state capital gains. This year's government work report proposed increasing the integration of fiscal resources and budget coordination, as well as raising the proportion of state capital gains collected. It is foreseeable that state capital gains will play an increasingly important role in economic and social development.
Promoting the public sharing of state capital gains requires, on one hand, establishing clear benchmarks for profit submission. In January 2024, the State Council issued an opinion on further improving the budget system for the management of state capital, demanding strict implementation of laws and regulations, including the Budget Law and its implementation regulations, the Company Law, and the Law on State-Owned Assets of Enterprises, to collect state capital gains in accordance with the law.
In response to issues raised in the aforementioned report, the State Council emphasized in a September 2025 reply that it would continue to improve the mechanism for the submission and distribution of state capital gains. This includes the Ministry of Finance researching enhancements to the budget system for state capital management and the submission mechanism, expanding the coverage of the budget, strengthening budget revenue management, and implementing the "three concentrations" requirement for state capital to support its strengthening and expansion.
State capital is owned by the people, a fundamental attribute that dictates its gains should not circulate solely within enterprises but must benefit every household. The aforementioned NPC official highlighted that while the current Law on State-Owned Assets of Enterprises emphasizes the public ownership of SOEs and state capital, it lacks specific provisions on profit distribution. Subsequent regulations are scattered across various "opinions" and "regulations" issued under the Budget Law and by the State Council and relevant departments. The comprehensive revision of the law now presents an opportunity to establish clear rules for standardizing the use of state capital gains.
Promoting the public sharing of state capital gains also requires clarifying the focus of usage to ensure the gains genuinely benefit people's livelihoods. One key focus is ensuring sufficient social security funds. The draft revision specifies that wholly state-owned companies and state-controlled companies must transfer a certain proportion of state capital to safeguard the secure and sustainable operation of social insurance funds. Addressing urgent issues in areas related to people's livelihoods is another important focus.
In 2025, national general public budget revenue was 21.6 trillion yuan, a decrease of 1.7% year-on-year, while rigid expenditures on education, healthcare, and pensions continued to grow, highlighting persistent fiscal revenue and expenditure contradictions. In this context, funds transferred from state capital gains have become a significant component of general public budget transfers, thereby enhancing fiscal sustainability and securing a financial foundation for stable economic and social operation.
As the scale of state capital continues to expand, the challenge of promoting high-quality development of SOEs while securely achieving public sharing of state capital gains demands serious strategic planning. Standardizing the submission of state capital gains aims to foster healthier development, and utilizing these gains effectively seeks to build a more sustainable social development security system. Both objectives require further improvements in legal framework construction as a guarantee.