BEIJING — China will roll out targeted measures to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tide over difficulties, a senior official with the Ministry of Finance said on Feb 22.

As a major impetus for economic and social development, SMEs play an irreplaceable role in increasing employment, improving people's livelihood and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, Yu Weiping, vice-finance minister, told a press conference.

Against the backdrop of the pandemic, China will implement more supportive policies to help these enterprises get through operational and financing difficulties, he said.

The country will continue to cut taxes and fees for SMEs. China's total tax and fee cuts last year amounted to nearly 1.1 trillion yuan (about $173.3 billion), official data showed.

"Small and medium-sized enterprises benefited the most from last year's tax and fee reduction," Yu said.

Measures will be taken to ensure small enterprises in the manufacturing sector enjoy tax deferrals on all of their domestic value-added tax and income tax while medium-sized enterprises enjoy a 50 percent of tax deferral.

The vice-minister also stressed efforts to ease the financing pressure of SMEs by establishing inclusive finance demonstration zones and improving their financing environment.

From 2018 to 2022, a total of 9 billion yuan will be allocated to boost innovation and entrepreneurship among SMEs that feature specialization, refinement, uniqueness and innovation, Yu noted.

To date, the country has more than 300 "little giant" firms listed on the market, with the two-year average growth of operating revenue and net profit exceeding 25 percent, twice the average of all listed companies.

"China will further step up preferential tax policies and roll out a slew of measures to create more financing channels for small and medium-sized enterprises," Yu said.