A staff member works at a workshop of a precision machinery manufacturing company in Beilun District of Ningbo City, east China's Zhejiang Province, April 10, 2025. In recent years, Beilun District has tailored its development plans for key industrial chains, continuously enhancing the level of digital transformation among enterprises in the region, aiming to develop a number of advantageous industrial clusters and leading enterprises. (Photo: Xinhua)

The overall development environment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China continued to improve in 2024, with narrowing regional gaps in market conditions and improved market access, according to a report released on Sunday by the China Centre for Promotion of SME Developments under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The report emphasized SMEs' important role in driving innovation, promoting employment and improving people's livelihoods. It evaluated 50 representative cities based on indicators such as market conditions, the legal environment, access to financing and the environment of innovation and policy support. 

The report showed that 60 percent of the surveyed SMEs maintained or increased their revenue in 2024. More than 60 percent of the specialized and sophisticated enterprises participating in the evaluation said that they have plans for research and development (R&D) in 2025, while more than 40 percent have investment plans, signaling stronger confidence and improved expectations, the report said. 

"The development environment for SMEs in China continues to improve, reflecting positive effects of policy implementation and market mechanisms working together, which is conducive to the stable development of SMEs and stimulates market vitality and innovation potential," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

"Rising confidence among specialized and sophisticated enterprises stems from their positive outlook on their innovation capabilities and market potential, as well as opportunities created by supportive policies and an improving business environment," Wang noted.

The average R&D spending intensity in the evaluated cities reached 2.76 percent, up nearly 0.1 percentage points from the previous year. The total value of technology contracts rose to 4.01 trillion yuan ($556.06 billion), maintaining fast growth, according to the report.

The report also showed that cities have been actively improving public service systems for SMEs, focusing on enhancing service capacity and effectiveness. More than 80 percent of the cities surveyed operate digital platforms integrating online and on-site services.

China has built more than 1,800 four-tier public service institutions for SMEs. The China SME Service Network has achieved connectivity with 32 provincial and 171 municipal service platforms, serving more than 1 million enterprises in total, according to the report.