Vice-Premier Liu He recently presided over the sixth meeting of the State Council's leading group on the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, discussing supportive measures for SMEs affected by the epidemic.

Liu He is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the leading group.

At the meeting, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the People's Bank of China, China Banking Regulatory Commission and the National Development and Reform Commission reported on their progress in implementing supportive measures for SMEs and related suggestions.

It was stressed at the meeting that the SMEs act as a significant pillar of China’s social and economic development. Their operation has seen improvements with a slew of preferential policies carried out.

The development of the SMEs calls for a two-pronged approach, which involves expansion in the gross demand and stronger financial support.

Government departments should speed up investment in major projects and facilitate private investment. Meanwhile, consumption's role in driving economic development calls for attention as well. And the service industry, including retail, catering, culture, and education, needs combined online and offline efforts with epidemic prevention work in place.

Financial policies should be more structural and professional, using an assortment of policy tools to meet capital demands of SMEs.

Market-oriented policymaking should be upheld, those at the meeting stressed. Taking into account the paralysis of some businesses due to the epidemic, authorities should formulate practical and effective provisional policies in different phases, in a bid to help all types of SMEs, especially those in temporary dire straits but with bright prospects ahead, to smoothly overcome the difficulties.

Targeted supportive measures should be taken to pragmatically help different SMEs tackle the issues plaguing them. And the central government and local authorities should both play active roles to facilitate policy implementation.