Against the backdrop of intensified trade frictions between China and the United States and transformation and upgrading of the economic structure, how to better enhance the core competitiveness of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and promote them to become stronger, better, and bigger has become a topic of common concern in the fields of social practice and academic research. Although SOEs have achieved certain results in reform and development, they are still constrained by weak core competitiveness and low product market position. However, existing research has not paid enough attention to the common phenomenon of strategic alliance between SOEs and private capital in the context of Chinese characteristics, and has ignored its important role in the market competitive position of SOEs.

On this basis, this paper takes state-owned listed companies from 2008 to 2021 as the object to explore the impact of strategic alliance between SOEs and private enterprises on the market competitive position of SOEs. The results show that SOEs can gain tacit knowledge from entrepreneurs, and improve operational efficiency and brand reputation, thereby achieving a leap in their market competitive position. If the implementation willingness and degree of strategic alliance between SOEs and private enterprises increase by one standard deviation, the market competitive position of SOEs will increase by 13% and 22%. Further analysis shows that the aforementioned effects are more pronounced in central and monopolistic SOEs, and after the comprehensive deepening of the SOE reform by the Party Central Committee in 2015. And it is more prominent in situations where private partners have strong capabilities, the focus is on joint investment and operation, the communication within the alliance is convenient, and the rights and obligations of all parties are clear.

This paper has the following contributions and policy implications: In theory, it comprehensively considers the implementation willingness and degree of strategic alliance between SOEs and private enterprises, and studies its impact on the market competitive position of SOEs, thus making an important expansion of the literature on the micro-forms and consequences of mixed-ownership economies. In practice, it has guiding value for SOEs to better rely on the strategic alliance with private enterprises to enhance their core competitiveness, and also provides policy reference for regulatory authorities to better encourage, support, and promote the effective practice model of “SOEs and private capital” strategic alliance.