China has so far boasted a total of 8,997 specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that play a significant role in advanced innovation, said a senior official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Thursday.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), China aims to develop 10,000 specialized and sophisticated “little giant” SMEs, marking an important strategic step in boosting the resilient capacity of the manufacturing chain and arousing the vigor and vitality of SMEs in the nation’s sprawling industrial economy, according to Xu Xiaolan, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology.
So far, the four batches of nearly 9,000 “little giant” SMEs have participated in the formulation and revision of more than 13,000 industrial standards in China.
In 2021, the operating income earned by the “little giant” SMEs reached a total of Ksh.64 trillion (3.7 trillion yuan), surging 31.5 percent year on year, which was 11.6 percentage points higher than the average income growth rate of above-scale SMEs (enterprises each with an annual prime operating revenue of or above Ksh.346.7 million ( 20 million yuan)
Speaking at the 2022 National Conference on Development of Specialized and Sophisticated SMEs opened in Nanjing City of east China’s Jiangsu Province on Thursday, Xu said that the “little giant” companies are playing a great supporting role in key fields of manufacturing including high-end new materials development and production, 5G technology development and application, and new energy vehicles making.
“Small parts and components can contain high technology, small companies can be of great supporting and matching capacity, and small industries can achieve great business successes, which have been sufficiently reflected by the operation of specialized and sophisticated ‘little giant’ enterprises,” Xu said.
The conference, with the theme of “Strengthening the foundation and consolidating the chain,” was co-hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government.
Attending the meeting are leading officials of the relevant departments of the central government and leading officials of the Jiangsu provincial government, officials in charge of SMEs affairs from provincial-level bureaus, and representatives of specialized and sophisticated SMEs.
President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, sent a letter to extend warm congratulations to the event.
Vice Premier Liu He, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the opening ceremony via video link, and read out Xi’s congratulatory message.
