Li says SMEs' financing costs to fall

China will ramp up efforts to reduce financing costs for small and medium-sized enterprises this year, with the government ready to adopt a targeted policy tool to spur lending to small and private firms, Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday.

In the context of a global slowdown and new downward pressure for the Chinese economy, some small, medium-sized and private companies are faced with challenges in development and even survival, he said.

"We need to take this issue very seriously," Li said as he held a dialogue with representatives from business communities and think tanks attending the three-day Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2019, also known as Summer Davos, which ended Wednesday in Dalian, Liaoning province.