List shows rising importance of Web

Chinese Internet entrepreneurs dominated the 2014 Forbes China Rich List, a rundown of the country's wealthiest individuals released earlier this week. The CEOs of Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent nabbed the top three spots, while five of China's 10 richest CEOs were involved with online companies.

With Chinese Internet and online companies on track to overtake many of their foreign rivals, observers are keeping a close eye on the sector.

It is becoming increasingly clear that China's e-commerce and Internet-based businesses represent an important new engine of economic growth as well as a catalyst for economic reforms. Over recent years, we've seen such companies greatly spur domestic consumption and pioneer a host of financial and service innovations.

This year's China Rich List underscores the emphasis China is placing on technology and innovation-driven economic growth. The ranking also shows that it is necessary for the Chinese government to continue efforts to streamline its administration of the Internet industry. Authorities should continue to deepen industry reforms and refrain from heavy-handed interventions in the market. This will help the industry move closer toward achieving the full potential of private capital - indeed, all of China's top Internet companies are privately owned.