China's 150 million entrepreneurs and freelance professionals are being recognized alongside workers, farmers and intellectuals as a new pillar of China's society and economic development.

The Outlook Weekly, Xinhua's news magazine, reports that entrepreneurs and professionals contributed one third of the country's total tax revenues.

Emerging as a new economic force they include private enterprise owners, technicians and management professionals and free agent professionals such as doctors and lawyers.

These well educated, highly motivated professionals and business people provided more than 50 percent of the country's technical patents.

Previously, during China state-planned economy, people were either workers, farmers and intellectuals.

The United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) recognized business people and professionals as a new pillar of socialism with Chinese characters.

Statistics show that the group has already made a significant contribution to China's society. In China's prosperous Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, private enterprises contribute about half of each province's tax revenues.

The United Front Work Department said over the past 10 years, the country's private enterprises create nearly six million new jobs each year, about 75 percent of the annual total.

The department also noted that some business people and professionals have made generous charitable donations to society.
 
(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2006)