Institutional protection for economic 'capillaries'

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has recently released a regulation on promoting the development of small privately-owned businesses, such as grocery stores and eateries, which will come into effect on Nov 1.

The non-public sector is an important part of the socialist market economy of China, and such small businesses are important market entities that create jobs and inject vitality into the economy.

The regulation adheres to a problem-oriented approach, pays special attention to government functions, focuses on the outstanding difficulties faced by small privately-owned businesses in pursuing their development, and makes targeted institutional arrangements.

The document clearly states that local authorities should implement fiscal and tax policies conducive to the development of small privately-owned businesses, and they should not discriminate against them.

Such businesses are the capillaries of the national economy and the most dynamic market players. By the end of September this year, there were 111 million small privately-owned businesses registered on the Chinese mainland, accounting for two-thirds of the total number of market entities and generating nearly 300 million jobs.

Many of today's corporate giants have developed from such businesses that operate on a shoestring, in some cases from the humble origins of a stall on the corner of a street. It can be said that small privately-owned businesses have often been the incubators of the large private enterprises in the country.

However, the care and protection of small privately-owned businesses is far from enough, as it is not rare for them to suffer from some unfair and unjust treatment. Such businesses have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic shocks, and they are facing different degrees of pressure and difficulties. Many have not withstood the test.

In response, the State Council unveiled a series of concrete measures in May to bail out the small, medium and micro-sized enterprises and individual businesses. These measures include tax cuts, fee exemptions and subsidized utility bills and rents.

The regulation issued this time represents the central government's latest effort to normalize and institutionalize previous measures customized for individual businesses.

The regulation aims to get rid of obstacles and "pain points", and to solve various obstacles and problems affecting small privately-owned businesses, which have weak risk resistance capability.

Small privately-owned businesses, given their indispensable role in the national economy, should be parties that receive special care and assistance from government departments, rather than be victims of abuses of power.

THEPAPER.CN