BEIJING — China will continue to implement measures to boost manufacturing companies' research and development (R&D), and extend loan support for small and micro-sized enterprises, a State Council executive meeting said.

The country will raise the deductible share of manufacturing firms' R&D expenditure and encourage innovation and industrial upgrading, the meeting said. Premier Li Keqiang chaired the meeting on March 24.

While maximizing enterprises' principal innovation role, China should unveil more market-oriented, equitable, and inclusive measures to spur corporate and social investment in R&D, the meeting said.

Apart from improving the deductible share, the meeting decided to bring forward the tax deduction dates so that manufacturing companies can benefit from such favorable tax services as early as possible.

The country should also formulate more supportive tax policies to support R&D- and innovation-oriented enterprises, the meeting added.

To ensure financial support and ease financing difficulties for small and micro enterprises, the meeting decided to extend the preferential policies of loan repayment deferral and credit support for small and micro enterprises to the end of this year.

It also passed the draft vocational education law.