“It is rare for the government to set up an agency specialized in a certain sector. It sends a policy signal for guiding expectations in an institutionalized way,” said Bruce Pang, head of research and chief economist at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

Private firms are major employers in the economy and contribute to more than half of the nation’s fixed-asset investment. Years of regulatory crackdowns and pandemic controls shattered confidence in the sector, with once-dominant firms like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shrinking dramatically.

Concerns about private enterprise are acute this year as the economy struggles to combat a laundry list of challenges from the property crisis and falling exports to deflationary pressures.

The new bureau will also regularly talk to companies and help them resolve their main problems, as well as support their attempts to improve international competitiveness, said NDRC official Zhang Shixin at a Monday briefing.

In July, the ruling Communist Party and the government pledged to treat private companies the same as state-owned enterprises — a move seen by investors at the time as a framework for future support. The NDRC later issued a 17-point plan to revive private investment, as they sought funding worth trillions of yuan for projects covering everything from transportation and water conservation to clean energy.