China has rolled out measures to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are more vulnerable in emergencies so that they can effectively resume normal work during the pneumonia outbreak.

By Feb. 26, about 32.8 percent of SMEs had resumed work, 3.2 percentage points higher than three days earlier.

Because of the fewer orders and delayed production, SMEs are faced with increasing costs and tight budgets, said Zhang Kejian, vice-minister of industry and information technology.

To help SMEs with funding issues, banks in China have provided loans worth more than 953.5 billion yuan for enterprises as of Feb. 26. For the enterprises that have been severely stricken by the pneumonia outbreak, the banking institutions would prolong the repayment duration and lower the interest rate accordingly.

As for privately or individually-owned businesses, the government has not only helped ensure the employees and logistics so that they could resume normal operation, but has reduced their operating costs, such as the added-value tax and power fare, and has furthermore called on social organizations and Internet platforms to help them through the epidemic.

By the end of 2018, the number of SMEs rose to 18.1 million in China, making up 99.8 percent of all legal entities, according to a report on China’s fourth economic census released by the National Bureau of Statistics.