SMEs Vital for Sustained Growth of China's EconomySmall and medium-sized enterprises (SME), which make up 99 percent of all enterprises in China, are a vital force for the sustained development of the Chinese economy. The number of registered SMEs in China has exceeded eight million, and both industrial output and export volume of these enterprises made up 60 percent of China's total. The Chinese government is giving much attention to the development of SMEs. A law on SME promotion has been approved and will be implemented next year to ensure these companies' healthy growth. "SMEs also play an important role in easing unemployment by providing three quarters of employment opportunities in Chinese cities". Talents and human capacity building for SME"Talents and human capacity building have never been so pressing than today," To meet the challenges of the New Economy and technological revolution, SMEs should work on structural reform, technical innovation and new products. The Chinese government has adopted various policy initiatives including financial incentives to encourage SMEs’ training. The government is keen to develop an effective training system to provide SMEs with an integrated package of training and technical support through close collaboration between the public and private sectors. To address SMEs’ skills constraints and improve their productivity, the SME Department of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) launched a pilot scheme in 2003 named the National SME Galaxy Training Project (Galaxy Project). Funded by the central government with matching resources from local governments, the Galaxy Project offered an integrated package of training and technical support to SMEs. China SME Database SME-Net The Association has been running a "SME-Net" for years, which had been funded by the Industry and Technology Development Council (ITDC) in 1996, with the aims to foster small and medium enterprises (SMEs) developing their own website and hosting it into the net. The Association has committed to lead, support and facilitate the development of e-commerce and help SMEs to act proactively in enhancing their competitiveness and adding value to their corporate image through the provision of developing their own company website to promote their products or service and expand it into the regional or global market. Opportunities in China 'Unprecedented' for SMEs Government support and rapid economic growth offer "unprecedented" scope for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to develop in China, said a senior official in Beijing. This year, the Chinese government has for the first time allocated 50 million yuan (US$6 million) to promote the development of SMEs, said Chen Yanhai, deputy director of the SME department of the State Development and Reform Commission. China Small and Medium Enterprise Compentence Organization (SMEO) China Small and Medium Enterprise Compentence Organization (SMEO) was established by the International Cooperation Association of Small and Medium Enterprise of China National Development and Reform Commission, and the International Cooperation Centre of Small and Medium Enterprise.
China SMEO takes the challenge of growth and entails the enhancement of the competitiveness and responsibility of Small and Medium Enterprise. It embodies and implements the "acceleration law of China small and medium enterprise", and the "rapid development of the Small and Medium Enterprise".
Assisting SME development In partnership with World Resources Institute and the Institute for Environment and Development (IED), we are sponsoring a three-year programme in China helping small and medium enterprises working in biodiversity and renewable energy to succeed and grow and contribute to the economic development and sustainable development in China.
More than 200 people from 120 small businesses have attended workshops to improve management skills since the launch of the programme. Following the workshops, 100 companies have been selected for further mentoring to develop business plans. The top 10 businesses compete for a prize in a year-end Investors' Forum, which is supported by venture capitalists. Following the first investor's forum in 2003, four companies won loans of US$ 1.3 million from banks.
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