The Emerging Capitalist Spirit of Private Enterprises in China: Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics

China’s private enterprises display three specific characteristics. First, new entrepreneurs come mainly from the public ownership system—from government and party officials and former managers of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Second, many private enterprises are operated by family members of the owners, while some venture enterprises use colleagues to complement technology with management skill. Third, private enterprises find ways to survive within bureaucratic capitalism, forming a grudging symbiosis. And finally, they show little concern to develop high technology on their own, depend instead on already developed technology. These characteristics contribute to the development of “capitalism with Chinese characteristics.”