The number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China
has exceeded 8 million, accounting for 99 percent of the country's
total enterprises, according to a press conference held in Beijing
Monday.
About 60 percent of the national industrial output value and 40
percent of the national revenue came from the SMEs, statistics
show.
In
recent years, Chinese SMEs have made great progress in
technological innovation and financing, and have been provided with
an increasingly sound development environment, officials from the
China's State
Economic and Trade Commission (SETC) said.
At
present, China has set up some 40 technological innovation service
centers, 500 productivity promotion centers, 30 university
scientific and technological parks and 20 business foundation parks
for returned students, which have jointly offered strong support
for SMEs' technological innovation.
In
terms of financing, more than 100 Chinese cities have established
credit guarantee institutions, which are expected to help guarantee
some US$4.8 billion of bank loans for the SMEs.
The Chinese government has also promulgated a series of laws and
regulations to protect and promote the development of SMEs.
For instance, the Law on SME Promotion has been listed in the
legislation plan of the National People's Congress (NPC), with its
draft bill expected to be submitted to the NPC Standing Committee
by December this year.
The cooperation between China and other APEC members on developing
SMEs has turned out to be very active and effective, said Zhang
Zhigang, vice minister of the SETC.
The Chinese government has made great efforts to enhance the
cooperation with APEC members and help the domestic SMEs to exploit
more international markets, he added, citing the fact that the SETC
has established cooperative ties with the departments in charge of
SME affairs in Japan, Canada and other countries.
Zhang said the eighth APEC SME Ministerial Meeting scheduled for
August 29 and 30 will bring more opportunities for the Chinese
SMEs.
(Xinhua News
Agency 07/30/2001)