China’s small businesses in ‘urgent need’ of support to protect jobs and boost domestic demand, State Council says
- Small and medium-sized enterprises are the foundation of China’s economy, accounting for the vast majority of non-government jobs
- Alleviating hardships facing SMEs is now higher on government’s agenda, largely due to risks they pose to social stability and the country’s future development
Beijing moved this week to provide additional support for small businesses – one of the weak links in China’s domestic economy – as leaders attempt to balance an uneven economic recovery by shoring up employment and domestic demand.
The State Council, the country’s cabinet, demanded that local governments and financial institutions help small businesses, which account for the lion’s share of employment in the country but which continue to struggle from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and a long-standing lack of access to adequate financing.
“The resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the foundation of the national economy. They, often privately owned, are the main part of government initiatives to protect market entities and employment,” said a statement issued after a small business work conference chaired by Vice-Premier Liu He on Thursday.
Small businesses accounted for about 80 per cent of the nation’s non-government employment at the end of 2019.