A Chinese lawmaker has proposed to ensure a smoother access of the country's private sector to projects of infrastructure and public utilities as impediments remain to be removed.

There remain various difficulties and problems when private firms want to access projects of infrastructure and public utilities, You Xiaoping, deputy head of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association, said on Sunday on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session.

"This is the situation in reality despite the fact the central government has made it clear that non-state capital is also welcomed in such projects," he said.

More than 95 percent of the country's petroleum and natural gas exploration in terms of industrial output were from state-owned or state-controlled enterprises in 2007, according to You.

The figure for power generation was more than 90 percent, and nearly 50 percent for transport equipment manufacturing, he added.

Private firms should be encouraged to invest in these key industries, You said, adding this would help reduce monopoly in certain sectors, improve the efficiency of resource allocation, and boost domestic demand.

Supplementary policies for smoother access of private firms should be adjusted to build a more fair market environment, You said.

He said it is also necessary to create a supervision system to prevent private firms from chasing after short-term profits in their participation of such projects directly linked to welfare of the public.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2009)