CHINA will strengthen support for market entities, especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and improve loan aid for students from impoverished families, said a State Council executive meeting held Wednesday.

The meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, also adopted a draft revision of the law on agricultural product quality and safety.

To help cushion the stress from rising production costs due to high commodity prices, increased accounts receivable, and epidemic and disaster impacts, the meeting pledged to increase the re-lending quota for small firms by another 300 billion yuan (about US$46.38 billion).

Local banks will be supported to lend to small- and micro-firms as well as individual businesses. Policies of providing loan interest discounts, rewards, and subsidies to encourage lending for epidemic-hit industries and enterprises will also be improved.

A national mechanism will be put in place to help provide guarantees for small firms that lack collateral or credit records. Financial institutions will offer support such as bill discounts and standard bill financing to relieve small firms’ pressure from outstanding payments, the meeting added.

To bail out students with financial difficulties and promote education equality, the meeting decided to improve national student loan policies by, for instance, substantially raising the loan ceiling for college students.

(Xinhua)