Small business support

A reported wave of bankruptcies among China's small businesses was officially declared untrue last week.

Such a belated rumor buster is barely reassuring. The fact that such enterprises are not going bust in large numbers does not amount to valid proof that conditions are not worsening rapidly for these job-creating businesses.

If the country's small and media-sized enterprises (SMEs) are to survive the double whammy of rising costs and cash shortages caused by monetary tightening, policymakers need to come to their aid quickly.