As the world’s second largest economy, China has been increasingly acknowledged by the world as the hub of new economies as millions of start-ups are born here. The vigor and vitality of young start-ups and their entrepreneurs are the epitome of the development of China’s private businesses over the past 70 years since its founding.

Speaking of China’s private economy, one may not know its size, but data shows its significance as it comprised around 60 percent of the overall economy and created about 90 percent of jobs, and contributed 70 to 80 percent of innovation in the country, said Michael R. Powers, Zurich Insurance Group Chair and a professor at Tsinghua University, in an interview with the People’s Daily.

China's emergence as a leading world economy has sparked curiosity about the reasons behind the miracle. One historic moment was in 1978, when the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held its third plenary session in Beijing.

Later in the 1980s, massive changes began to take place in the country. Until 1987, in China’s urban areas, 5.69 million people had been employed in all walks of life, including private industrial and commercial enterprises. Many private enterprises had flourished. That was the time when the first generation of Chinese entrepreneurs began digging out the first “pot of gold.”

China’s entry into the WTO further paved the way for the dramatic changes that took place in the new economy period, with the surge in exports and imports as China further opened up to the outside world.

Around 2012, with the spread of smartphones, entrepreneurship became a buzzword and emerged in the mobile and internet sector.

China’s business environment has improved with progress in legal and social conditions, and more and more young people have started their own businesses as the spirit of enterprise and perseverance have been rooted in people’s hearts.

As Xu Yuanhong, CEO of Ai Fen Lei, put it, “China will become more and more prosperous and develop at a smoother pace. For private enterprises like ours, it is the best of times.”

(Produced by Cheng Weidan, Wang Xiangyu, Xu Zheqi, Liang Peiyu and Li Bowen; subtitles translated by Qiao Wai, Elaine Yue Lin, Paris Yelu Xu, Han Xiaomeng, Wang Zi and Baohan; story by Han Xiaomeng)

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