China will carry out an extensive nationwide review of the investment incentives it gives out to the private sector, which will enable the latter to play a stronger role in the country's  economic growth.

Scheduled on May 18, the month-long evaluation will look into the implementation of 39 State Council documents that were released in 2014, which were designed to encourage investments in key innovation sectors, China Daily reported.

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The announcement was made by Premier Li Keqiang during the State Council's executive meeting last Wednesday. 

"Any decline in private investment will affect the vitality of China's economy," Li noted.

He added: "What's more, private investment is a crucial driving force for the country's private economy, which provides over 80 percent of the country's total employment opportunities."

China's review of investment incentives for the private sector comes at an opportune time, as the nation's economy expanded by 6.7 percent year-on-year during the first quarter.

This growth is within the 6.5 to 7 percent yearly growth target that the Central Government had set in March.

China's strong economic performance is seen as a positive development by the international business community after the year began with stock markets in China tumbling amid negative expectations at home and abroad.

But despite the country's impressive growth, private investments in the country only increased by 5.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, down by 7.9 percentage points against the same period last year.

To address this concern, Li called on China's local governments and ministries to provide more investment incentives to the private sector.

"We should not offer umbrellas on sunny days and take them away while it is raining," the premier pointed out.

Although China is making the transition from being an export-oriented economy to one that is consumption-driven, the Chinese government considers private investment as a driver of long-term economic growth.

For the past 11 years, the State Council has given out investment incentives to encourage private investments in China, which include the opening up of a number of major infrastructure projects that were previously off-limits to private investors. 

Tagschina, Investment Incentives, Premier Li Kequiang