I. Four points are mainly focused in the formulation of the Measures:

It highlights the full implementation of the national poverty alleviation policy. In terms of implementation, it is committed to helping micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Beijing to benefit from preferential policies as much as possible.

It highlights the demands of enterprises. The Measures fully responds to and puts forward specific actions to address the most urgent concerns of enterprises such as housing rents, pandemic increasing costs for pandemic prevention and control, tax relief, and financing channels.

It highlights targeted assistance. Supporting policies will be tilted to industries hit hard by the pandemic, such as catering, retail, tourism, civil aviation, highway and railway transport, and performance art. According to the Measures, in 2022, regular nucleic acid tests shall be carried out free of charge for employees of MSMEs in industries including catering, retail, cruise taxi, takeaway, express delivery, and imported non-cold chain related business, covering more than 900,000 employees (preliminary estimation). In particular, priority support shall be given to technology-based MSMEs. Measures such as facilitating venture loans, discounting loan interest, and issuing technological innovation vouchers shall be implemented to foster the development of technology-based MSMEs and strengthen the momentum for the high-quality economic development in Beijing.

It highlights the feasibility and operability of the policies. The feasibility and operability of the policies have been fully considered when the Measures is formulated. Detailed implementation rules have been introduced by relevant competent industry departments according to the actual needs. Meanwhile, each district is required to fully assume its responsibilities in implementing the policies and facilitate the enterprises’ access to relevant policies through the city-district coordination and inter-department collaboration. In the process of policy implementation, efforts will be made to strengthen supervision and inspection, monitoring, and evaluation, gather the opinions of enterprises in a timely manner, and ensure the fulfillment of the policies and measures.

II. Main Content

The Measures include 18 measures in four aspects. According to the preliminary estimation, these 18 measures will benefit more than 1.6 million MSMEs, with a total capital of about RMB 130 billion. The main content can be summarized as “three reductions, three subsidies, and two guarantees”.

The “three reductions” refer to cutting the operating costs of MSMEs through reducing taxes, rents, and pandemic prevention and control expenses.

In terms of tax reduction, work will be done to further reinforce the implementation of policies on refunding term-end excess input value-added tax credits as required by the state. The “six taxes and two fees” will be cut by half, and increase the additional deduction for R&D expenses of technology-based MSMEs to 100 percent.

In terms of a rent reduction, it will reduce or waive three months’ rent for MSMEs and individual businesses registered or paying taxes in Beijing for renting state-owned properties, and six months’ rent in high-risk areas.

In terms of reducing pandemic prevention and control expenses, we will regularly carry out free nucleic acid tests for employees of MSMEs in such industries as catering, retail, cruise taxi, takeaway, express delivery and imported non-cold chain related business. The specific industries shall be subject to the key groups of the nucleic acid screening in the “10+3+3” key industries determined by the pandemic prevention and control policy of Beijing. With part of the expenses covered by the medical insurance fund, the rest shall be borne by the district and municipal finance departments. Nucleic acid tests shall be mandated for all key groups.

The “three subsidies” refer to helping MSMEs solve their development problems through loans with discounted interest and guarantee compensation, innovation subsidies for technology-based enterprises, and subsidies for industries hit hard by the pandemic.

In terms of loans with discounted interest and guarantee compensation, the ratio of first loan discount points will be increased from 20 to 40 percent for industries hit hard by the pandemic. Meanwhile, an extensive capital pool for financing risk compensation will be set up to compensate guarantee institutions for up to 20 percent of the actual total amount of newly added financing guarantee business for MSMEs. For government-funded guarantee institutions, efforts will be made to lower the guarantee fee rate to one percent.

In terms of innovation subsidies for technology-based enterprises, an investment and loan linkage support mechanism will be established for technology-based MSMEs to provide interest discount support for qualified businesses. Work will be done to further exert the supporting role of the Beijing Science and Technology Innovation Fund for technology-based MSMEs, and provide a subsidy of no more than RMB 300,000 to assist enterprises in purchasing scientific and technological innovation services via scientific and technological innovation vouchers.

In terms of subsidies for industries hit hard by the pandemic, relief and support measures will be implemented for such industries as catering, retail, tourism, civil aviation, highway and railway transport, and performance art.

The “two guarantees” refer to providing guarantees for the recovery and development of MSMEs by establishing a coordination mechanism for stabilizing industrial chains and supply chains and the implementation mechanism for assisting MSMEs.

In terms of establishing a coordination mechanism for stabilizing industrial chains and supply chains, efforts will be made to ensure the smooth operation of main traffic lines and logistics channels and remove transportation blockages. In response to the suspended production of the upstream and downstream supporting enterprises in other provinces and cities due to the pandemic, work will be done to actively cooperate with the coordination platforms of relevant ministries and commissions of China, and give full play to the role of cross-regional coordination mechanisms such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development mechanism, to push for the resumption of work and production of the supporting enterprises as soon as possible.

In terms of establishing the implementation mechanism for assisting MSMEs, work will be done to coordinate and improve the database of MSMEs in Beijing, conduct sampling surveys on the operation status of MSMEs, and regularly supervise and evaluate the implementation progress of the policy, so as to get through the “last mile” of policy implementation.

(Source: Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform)