The private sector has always been the hallmark of Zhejiang's economy. Around one-tenth of its population is private business owners and one out of every 29 people owns a private enterprise.

In 2018, the added value of private economy in Zhejiang exceeded 3.6 trillion yuan ($510.6 billion), accounting for about 65.5 percent of the province's GDP. The private economy contributed a lot to economic growth, creating 58.1 percent of tax revenue, 63.1 percent of investment, 71.9 percent of R&D investment (2017), 78 percent of foreign trade export, 87 percent of employment, and 91.2 percent of the number of enterprises. The proportions of tax revenue, investment, export and employment increased by 2.5, 4.8, 1.1 and 0.5 percentage points respectively over the previous year.

The growth rate of private enterprises increased. In 2018, among industries above a designated scale, the added value of private enterprises increased by 8.1 percent over the previous year, 0.8 percentage points higher than that of industries above a designated scale, accounting for 60.5 percent of provincial added value. From January to April 2019, among industries above a designated scale, the added value of private enterprises increased by 8.8 percent year-on-year, 1.9 percentage points higher than that of industries above a designated scale, accounting for 60.9 percent of the provincial figure.

The proportion of private investment increased. In 2018, the growth rate of private investment (17.8 percent) was 10.7 percentage points higher than that of total investment, accounting for 63.1 percent of total investment and 4.8 percentage points higher than the previous year. From January to April 2019, private investment increased by 11.4 percent, accounting for 64.9 percent of the total investment, an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the same period last year; private investment excluding real estate development increased by 12.7 percent.

The export proportion of private enterprises increased. In 2018, the export growth of private enterprises was 10.6 percent, 1.6 percentage points higher than that of the province, accounting for 78 percent of the province's exports volume. From January to April 2019, the export of private enterprises increased by 9.3 percent, and the proportion of private enterprises in the exports field rose by 78.5 percent.

The strength of private enterprises was consolidated and improved. Zhejiang had 93 enterprises listed among China's top 500 private enterprises in 2018, ranking first in the country, a position it has held for 20 consecutive years.