BEIJING — The number of market entities in China reached 134 million by the end of September, up 9 percent compared with that by the end of last year, official data showed.

In the first three quarters of this year, a total of 18.45 million market players had been newly established, up 3.3 percent year-on-year, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).

Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, the industrial structure of market entities has changed, with the number of newly added enterprises in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors rising by 35.8 percent, 13.5 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively, year-on-year in Jan-Sept period.

High-tech industrial enterprises grew significantly, while accommodation, catering and education sectors continued to recover and saw the decline narrow, said the SAMR.

China has striven to enhance policy-based support to stimulate the vitality of market entities to ensure they not only survive but also thrive.