No better alternative to stabilizing market players

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit some industries hard.

That is why the authorities have rolled out policies and measures to help enterprises, especially smaller businesses.

These range from setting up a 100 billion yuan ($15.13 billion) re-loan service in the transportation and logistics sector and opening a “green channel” for credit approval, to requiring governmentmanaged financing guarantee institutions to ensure financing guarantees for loans to medium, small and micro-sized enterprises with special difficulties, and encouraging banks to lend to enterprises without delay.

As slow and suspended production in some regions poses a challenge to the steady operation of industries, especially key industries such as automobiles and integrated circuits, the top authorities had recently urged the whole country to work together to ensure smooth transportation and logistics, and the normal operation of industrial and supply chains, antiepidemic enterprises and key infrastructure.

Ever since, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has set up coordination platforms for key industrial and supply chains to guarantee the resumption of work and production of key industries.

The Ministry of Transport is focusing on key regions, key enterprises and key problems to ensure the smooth flow of the logistics chain and supply chain. The central bank and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange have issued 23 policy measures to strengthen support for the real economy.

Next, the country will step up rescue support for those industrial and service sectors whose difficulties have not been effectively alleviated.

The medium, small and microsized enterprises have a weaker ability to resist risks. The authorities should take more practical measures to solve their urgent needs. Many of the measures are institutional and sustainable, and a long-term mechanism on reducing the burden of enterprises is taking shape at a faster pace.

The more than 150 million market entities are the backbone of China’s economy and a key force for ensuring employment, ensuring people’s well-being and stabilizing its economic fundamentals. As long as the government makes more targeted efforts to help market players resolve practical problems, it can stabilize expectations and strengthen the confidence of market players.