South China's Guangdong Province saw the added value of the private sector increase by 7.1 percent year on year in the first three quarters, reaching 3.78 trillion yuan (548 billion U.S. dollars).

Chen Liangxian, deputy governor, said in a provincial meeting on the private economy on Sunday that Guangdong's foreign trade in private sector rose 13 percent year on year to 2.52 trillion yuan during the period, ranking first among China's provincial-level economies.

Guangdong is home to eight Chinese private firms listed among the world's top 500, including Huawei and Tencent.

The province's private economy made up more than 50 percent of its GDP last year, and contributed to 75 percent of new innovations and 80 percent of new employment, according to Chen.

He said that to further support the private sector, the provincial government issued financial incentives in 2017, which had helped reduce 123 billion yuan of tax and fees as of the September.