I. Four mainly-focused considerations during the formulation of the Measures:

The Measures 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.

The Measures highlights the demands of enterprises, fully responding to them and putting forward specific actions to address the most urgent concerns of enterprises such as housing rents, increased costs for pandemic prevention and control, tax reduction and exemption, and the smoothing of financing channels.

The Measures also 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, cruising taxi, food delivery, express delivery, and imported non-cold chain related business, covering more than 900,000 employees according to preliminary estimation. In particular, priority 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 keep the momentum for the high-quality economic development of Beijing.

The feasibility and operability of the policies are also highlighted in the Measures. The feasibility and operability of the policies were fully considered when the Measures were formulated. Detailed implementation plans have been introduced by competent industry departments according to the actual needs. Meanwhile, all districts are required to fully assume the responsibilities in implementing the policies and facilitate the enterprises' access to relevant policies through 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 policy measures.

II. Main content

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

The "three reductions" refers to cutting the operating costs of MSMEs through the reduction of 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 the additional deduction for R&D expenses of technology-based MSMEs will be increased to 100 percent.

In terms of rent reduction, MSMEs and individual businesses registered or paying taxes in Beijing are entitled to receive reductions or remissions of three months' rent for renting state-owned properties while those in high-risk areas can be fully or partially relieved from paying rent of six months.

In terms of reducing pandemic prevention and control expenses, free nucleic acid tests will be regularly carried out for employees of MSMEs in such industries as catering, retail, cruising taxi, food delivery, express delivery and businesses related to imported non-cold-chain goods. The scope of applicable industries shall be in line with the "10+3+3" key industries for nucleic acid screening specified in the pandemic prevention and control policy of Beijing. The expenses will be jointly covered by the medical insurance fund and the district and municipal budget. Such nucleic acid tests shall be in the mechanism wherein “all those who are required to must be tested”.

The "three subsidies" refers to helping MSMEs solve their problems in developing through subsidized loans and guarantee compensation, innovation subsidies for technology enterprises, and subsidies for industries seriously affected by the pandemic.

In terms of subsidized loans and guarantee compensation, the ratio of first loan subsidy will be increased from 20 to 40 percent for industries seriously affected by the pandemic. Meanwhile, a compensation capital pool for an extensive financing risk will be set up to compensate guarantee institutions for up to 20 percent of the actual 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 enterprises, a venture loan support mechanism will be established to provide interest discount 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 CNY 300,000 to assist enterprises to purchase 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" refers to providing guarantees for the recovery and development of MSMEs by establishing a coordination mechanism for stabilizing industrial chains and supply chains and an 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 smooth operation of the main traffic lines and logistics channels, and remove impediments blocking transportation. 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 the central government, 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 in coordinating and improving the database of MSMEs in Beijing, conducting sample surveys on the operation status of MSMEs, and supervising and evaluating the implementation progress of the policy on regular basis so as to get through the "last mile" of policy implementation.

(Source: Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform)