At a State Council Information Office briefing on September 14th, the central bank unveiled new supportive measures aimed at alleviating payment delays faced by small and medium-sized enterprises, announcing that companies demonstrating clear progress in reducing outstanding payables and shortening payment cycles will receive preferential treatment in bond issuance.
Cao Yuanyuan, Director of the Financial Markets Department at the People's Bank of China, stated that large corporations have increasingly leveraged their dominant industry positions to delay payments to suppliers as a means of cutting financial costs and gaining competitive advantages. This practice has not only harmed the interests of SME suppliers but has also exacerbated unhealthy competition and supply-demand imbalances at the macroeconomic level.
Notably, public financial data reveals that certain large enterprises maintain substantial accounts payable while simultaneously holding abundant cash assets, indicating their capacity to make timely payments without doing so. From a macro-financial perspective, when large corporations expand their interest-free liabilities through accounts payable, the cash-strapped SMEs are forced to seek bank loans, effectively bearing financing costs that should belong to their larger counterparts. This structural mismatch has created significant distortions in the transmission of monetary policy, according to Cao.
The central bank has been closely monitoring the negative impacts of large enterprises' payment delays on the broader economy, industrial ecosystems, and SME operations. In response, it has been actively cooperating with relevant authorities on corporate payment governance initiatives, while supporting large companies in accessing interest-bearing financing through loans and bond issuances to ensure timely cash payments to their SME suppliers.
Simultaneously, the People's Bank of China has intensified its inclusive financial services to ease liquidity pressures on small businesses. This includes strengthening credit support through the implementation of previously announced 25 measures for private enterprise financing, enhancing financial service capability programs, utilizing structural monetary policy tools such as relending facilities for agriculture and small businesses, and improving credit enhancement systems for private and SME borrowers. As of the end of June 2026, inclusive small and micro loans reached 38.5 trillion yuan, registering an average annual growth rate of nearly 20 percent since 2020.
The central bank has also been actively promoting the use of the unified动产 registration system for movable property financing and the accounts receivable financing service platform, facilitating easier confirmation of receivables rights and financing access for SMEs.
These initiatives follow the recent issuance of the State Council's notice on strengthening governance over payment delays to SMEs. Based on in-depth research and enterprise feedback, the notice identifies key bottlenecks in the payment collection process and puts forward ten concrete measures across four areas, including establishing sound industry payment rules, strengthening supervision over large enterprises' payment behavior, regulating non-cash payment instruments, and enhancing fund transmission efficiency and financing support.
Looking ahead, the People's Bank of China will strictly implement the notice requirements, working closely with relevant departments to intensify governance over large enterprises' accounts payable issues. For companies issuing bonds in the interbank market, the central bank will strengthen disclosure requirements for accounts payable information and continue supporting enterprises in replacing accounts payable through loans and bond issuances. Companies demonstrating notable progress in reducing payables and shortening payment cycles will receive facilitated access to bond markets.
Furthermore, the central bank will expand financing support for small and medium-sized enterprises through special initiatives for private and inclusive small businesses, ensuring reasonable growth in loan volumes, steady improvement in loan quality, and stable lending rates while maintaining a solid customer base, ultimately enhancing the overall quality and effectiveness of inclusive financial services.