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China News Service, Beijing September 7 (Reporter Xia Bin) Tian Yulong, Chief Engineer and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, stated at a briefing held in Beijing on the 7th that overall, the production and efficiency of China's small and medium-sized enterprises have maintained a recovery and growth trend and continued sound operation since 2021.

Tian Yulong pointed out that statistics show that from January to July, the operating revenue and total profit of small and medium-sized industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 26.4% and 43.9% year-on-year respectively. At the end of July, the loss ratio of enterprises stood at 21.5%, narrowing by 1.5 percentage points from the same period last year.

"Big data monitoring of electricity consumption of more than 40 million small and micro enterprises carried out by our ministry together with State Grid and China Southern Power Grid shows that the electricity consumption of small and micro enterprises is recovering steadily. From January to July, the electricity consumption of small and micro enterprises increased by 15.1% year-on-year, with an average two-year growth of 3.4%. The electricity prosperity index has remained in the expansion range for 16 consecutive months, which generally reflects that the production and efficiency of enterprises are improving simultaneously," Tian Yulong said.

However, he also noted that since the second quarter of this year, the continuous sharp rise in raw material and logistics costs has pushed up operating costs, and problems such as insufficient order demand have also affected the normal production and operation of enterprises. Coupled with the recent sudden flood disasters, some operating difficulties have been caused, and some small and micro enterprises are also facing new challenges.

How to relieve difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises? Tian Yulong said that work should be done well in four aspects: first, further implement and refine the already introduced policies; second, further study and increase support; third, mobilize the enthusiasm of local governments; fourth, strengthen the monitoring and operation research and judgment of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Tian Yulong revealed that the *Provisions on Classification Standards for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises* is currently being revised and rolled out as soon as possible, and opinions have been solicited to promote targeted policies based on the different characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, local governments will be encouraged and supported to adopt characteristic and personalized support policies, effectively solve the practical difficulties of local SMEs, cope with the impact of the epidemic and flood disasters, alleviate their difficulties, strengthen the guarantee of production factors according to local conditions, and minimize the operating costs of enterprises to the greatest extent.(End)

Source: China News Service