Govt weighs social insurance reforms

To help Chinese businesses that have fallen on hard times, the government may let them delay payments they are required to make into the country's social insurance funds or pay reduced amounts, a senior official said.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Yin Chengji, a spokesman for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said his ministry is aware that some small and medium-sized enterprises in eastern regions are struggling as the country's economic growth continues to slow.

"We will keep an eye on the business situations of SMEs," he said. "If a lot of them find it difficult to sustain their growth or keep operating, we will introduce a policy to help ease their burdens, one that is similar to one we had in 2008 and 2009, when the global financial crisis was hitting hard."