On September 14th at 3 PM, the State Council Information Office held a regular policy briefing where officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the People's Bank of China, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the State Administration for Market Regulation provided updates on their joint efforts to resolve the persistent issue of payment delays affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Ke Jixin stated that payment recovery has long been a major concern for small businesses. He noted that while some large companies aggressively compete on price with their peers, they simultaneously extend payment terms for SMEs, leveraging their dominant market position to delay settlements.

On September 10th, the General Office of the State Council issued a notice on strengthening governance over payment delays for SMEs. The document outlines ten measures across four key areas: establishing industry-specific payment rules, strengthening oversight of large enterprises' payment practices, regulating non-cash payment instruments, and enhancing capital transmission efficiency along with financing support. Notably, the notice encourages leading enterprises to adopt a "60-day cash payment commitment," urging major companies to publicly pledge and fulfill payments to SMEs in cash within 60 days of goods, services, or project delivery.

Responding to questions about the notice's focus on large enterprises with substantial accounts payable but ample cash reserves, Cao Yuanyuan, an official from the People's Bank of China's financial markets department, offered a macroeconomic perspective on the payment delay issue. She observed that some large firms have been delaying supplier payments to save on financial costs and gain competitive advantages, which not only harms SME suppliers but also exacerbates "involution" and supply-demand imbalances at the macro level.

Using publicly available financial data, Cao highlighted that certain large enterprises maintain very high accounts payable while holding abundant cash assets, indicating they possess the capacity to pay promptly but choose not to. From a financial macro perspective, when large companies expand their interest-free liabilities through accounts payable, SMEs forced to bridge cash flow gaps must turn to bank loans, effectively bearing financing costs shifted onto them by larger corporations. This structural mismatch also hampers the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission.

To address this, the central bank is actively cooperating with relevant departments on large enterprise payment governance, supporting these firms in using interest-bearing debt financing—such as loans and bond issuances—to make timely cash payments to SME suppliers. Simultaneously, it is enhancing inclusive finance efforts to alleviate liquidity pressures on small businesses.

Cao detailed that the central bank continues to implement 25 measures supporting the private economy, including an initiative to improve financial service capabilities. It utilizes structural monetary policy tools like relending for agriculture and small businesses, while promoting the use of the unified registration system for chattel financing and a receivables financing platform to facilitate the confirmation of receivables and financing for SMEs. By the end of June 2026, inclusive small and micro business loan balances reached 38.5 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of nearly 20% since 2020.

Looking ahead, the central bank plans to strictly enforce the notice's requirements, strengthening disclosure obligations for accounts payable information among enterprises issuing bonds in the interbank market. It will continue supporting companies in replacing accounts payable through loans and bond issuances, while offering financing conveniences in bond issuance for enterprises demonstrating significant progress in reducing payment amounts and cycles. Additionally, a special action plan will be launched to support private and inclusive small and micro enterprise development, guiding reasonable loan growth and quality improvement to further enhance inclusive financial services.

Addressing the notice's provisions on regulating receivables electronic voucher services, Cao explained the origins and issues surrounding this financial tool. These electronic vouchers, issued by core enterprises through service platforms as records of future payment commitments, allow banks to provide financing to upstream and downstream suppliers. Due to their divisibility and financing convenience, the market expanded rapidly, peaking with over 200 platforms and outstanding balances of 3 trillion yuan involving numerous enterprises.

However, regulatory oversight lagged during the sector's early growth phase. Cao pointed out that some core enterprises used vouchers to delay payments while simultaneously charging suppliers high financing service fees—or even providing high-interest financing through affiliated factoring companies, effectively profiting from suppliers at both ends. In April of last year, the central bank, along with the National Financial Regulatory Administration and other departments, introduced regulations to standardize supply chain finance services and associated information service institutions. The Internet Finance Association of China also issued self-regulatory rules to govern voucher services.

These measures have yielded positive results over the past year. First, the scale of voucher business has significantly declined, with outstanding balances falling to 2.4 trillion yuan by the end of July—a 20% reduction from the pre-regulation peak of over 3 trillion yuan. Second, payment terms have shortened considerably, as policies require voucher payment periods to generally stay within six months, with the newly issued notice further restricting vouchers to a maximum of six months. Banks are also required to scrutinize the reasonableness of payment terms when providing financing services. Average voucher payment periods have already been reduced by 92 days compared to the same period last year. Third, the "both ends" exploitation has been effectively curbed, with some large enterprises involved in such practices exiting the voucher business entirely. Fourth, platform compliance has improved, with major platforms now disclosing fee standards, reducing average service fees to 0.16%, establishing mechanisms to consolidate trade background information, and suspending services for core enterprises with overdue or defaulted payments. Notably, 145 platforms that failed to meet compliance requirements have already exited or announced their imminent exit.

Cao stated that the central bank will continue to strictly control voucher payment periods, intensify supervision over electronic voucher service platforms, and promote timely cash payments from core enterprises. These efforts aim to alleviate payment recovery difficulties for SMEs and help smooth the macroeconomic circulation.