On October 16, a conference was held in Changsha, Hunan Province, to discuss the development of a national service network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China. This meeting aimed to thoroughly implement the directives set forth by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, focusing on the establishment of a unified service platform that connects local, provincial, and national support systems.
Since the issuance of guidelines on enhancing the public service system for SMEs in 2023, there has been a strong push from various levels of government to strengthen institutional frameworks. Currently, over 1,780 public service agencies for SMEs have been established across four levels. However, many underserved regions still face challenges such as low coverage of public service institutions and insufficient staffing, hindering their ability to provide comprehensive and precise services to local SMEs. The isolated nature of regional services also fails to meet the diverse needs of SMEs.
In an effort to address these challenges, the China SME Service Network is being developed as an integrated online service platform, scheduled to officially launch on July 30, 2024. This platform aims to cultivate a service model centered around resource sharing and value co-creation, effectively transforming it into a “supermarket” for SME services. It will gather various service providers to tackle issues such as inadequate offline service availability, limited service capabilities, and ineffective mobilization of resources—ensuring that essential policies, technologies, management strategies, services, and resources reach SMEs at the grassroots level.
The conference underscored the importance of seamless integration between offline service networks and online platforms, emphasizing the need for high standards and specifications in building this national SME service network. This initiative is expected to create a cohesive framework that connects domestic and international resources, merging public and market-oriented services, and play a critical role in guiding and supporting SMEs.
Representatives from the Hunan SME Service Center, Anhui SME Development Promotion Center, Zhejiang SME Development Promotion Center, and Shenzhen SME Service Bureau shared updates on their local service systems and offered suggestions for enhancing the national network based on their regional contexts.
