By mid-2004, there were 3.44 million private companies that hired more than 47.14 million employees, according to a survey of more than 3,000 private companies.
The latest tally of private companies passed 3.8 million by the end of 2004, chairman of the Research Association on the Private Economy, Bao Yujun said.
The survey also indicated that 33.9 per cent of the owners of private companies were Communist Party members, many of them had worked in state-owned or collective enterprises as managers before setting up their own businesses.
The production value realised by the private economy topped $241 billion in 2003, rising from $5.1 billion in 1989, said the survey, which also revealed that for every 400 people in China, there is one "boss" who owns a private company and whose income is $24,000 annually.
The development of the private economy is diversified greatly in different regions of the vast nation, China Daily reported, quoting the survey results.
More than 63 per cent of the private companies are clustered in eight provinces and cities, including Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shandong and Beijing.
During the past two years, the private economy has been allowed to enter more fields, said Bao.
However, the inertia of many governmental departments still impedes the smooth development of the sector, the survey found.
Among the issues that worry entrepreneurs are concerns about current reforms in the taxation system, implementation of the Constitution on the protection of private assets, shift of governmental functions as well the establishment of a social credit system.
Experts predict the gross growth rate of private economy will still surpass 10 per cent annually during the next five to 10 years, accounting for 60 per cent of the increase of the Chinese national economy.
It would also attract more than 10 million new employers to this sector. The survey also found that most of the owners of the private companies are "workaholic" to deal with the great pressure of their businesses.
Entrepreneurs have to spend 11.4 hours a day in their work, and the working day of some of the employers reached 18 hours, the survey indicated.
The survey was jointly organised by the Research Association on the Private Economy, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.