SMEs and self-employed to receive more state help
SMEs and self-employed to receive more state help
The Chinese government is to support the country’s smaller firms, self-employed people and other sectors struggling as a result of the pandemic and global economic pressures by to rolling out more targeted aid packages.
Premier Li Keqiang spoke with representatives of non-Communist parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and people without party affiliation for their views for the draft Government Work Report, ChinaDaily.com has reported.
The report will be submitted to the annual session of the 13th National People’s Congress in March for discussion and approval.
Li said China will give greater priority to creating economic stability, saying that targeted regulation rather than strong stimulus policies will be adopted.
The government will further boost market confidence, stabilize market expectations, deepen reform and opening-up and keep enhancing the vitality of the market and momentum for growth, he said.
The Central Economic Work Conference in December, which mapped out priorities for economic policies in 2022, pledged to roll out new tax cuts and fee reductions for businesses, especially small firms and self-employed people, and make it easier and cheaper for them to obtain financing.
In 2021, the State Council, China’s Cabinet, adopted a host of support policies for the nation’s 44 million micro and small businesses and over 95 million self-employed people, including steps to encourage financial institutions to expand loans and loan renewals.
Multipronged measures to ensure public well-being and full employment were highlighted by Cai Dafeng, chairman of the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy, at the symposium.
Wan Gang, chairman of the Central Committee of the China Zhi Gong Party, gave insights on further boosting business confidence and market expectations as well as developing the digital economy.
Record year for online sales
China’s online retail sales of physical goods beat the 10-trillion-yuan ($1.58 trillion) mark to hit 10.8 trillion yuan in 2021, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has reported.
In 2021, China’s online retail sales reached 13.1 trillion yuan, said MOC spokesperson Gao Feng. Online retail sales of physical goods accounted for 24.5% of total retail sales of consumer goods and contributed 23.6% of the growth of retail sales of consumer goods in 2021, Gao said.
He added that the steadily growing online retail market has become an important factor in keeping growth, employment and consumption stable.
China’s consumption market saw an upgrading trend last year, with healthy, green and high-quality goods increasingly favoured by consumers, Gao said. Data shows that sales of smart home devices surged 90.5% year-on-year in 2021.