Sichuan has officially issued a work plan aimed at promoting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises over the next five years.

The plan, titled the Work Plan for Promoting the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Sichuan Province (2026-2030), was recently released, according to the Sichuan Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology.

Under the plan, by 2030, the province aims to add a cumulative total of 6,000 industrial enterprises above designated size over the five-year period, bring the number of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises to 20,000, increase specialized and innovative SMEs to 7,000, raise the count of specialized and innovative "little giant" enterprises to 700, and develop 40 national-level characteristic industrial clusters for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The plan outlines specific tasks across eight areas: cultivating and strengthening business entities, supporting specialized and innovative development, supporting industrial innovation, supporting digital, intelligent and green development, supporting cluster-based and chain-oriented development, increasing financial support, improving services for enterprises, and strengthening the business environment.

Among these, "cultivating and strengthening business entities" is given top priority.

The plan calls for helping small and micro enterprises upgrade and improve quality, while strengthening support to help them maintain their upgraded status. Sichuan will carry out a special initiative to help small and micro enterprises upgrade and improve quality, including dynamically updating the cultivation database, strengthening policy guidance, improving enterprise assistance services, and enhancing support for maintaining upgraded status.

In terms of supporting specialized and innovative development, the plan emphasizes strengthening the tiered cultivation of high-quality enterprises and exploring leapfrog development for key provincial-level specialized and innovative SMEs, while also enhancing application recommendations and follow-up services for key "little giant" enterprises.

Regarding support for industrial innovation, the plan calls for strengthening the technological innovation capabilities of SMEs and innovating mechanisms for matching supply and demand in scientific and technological research. Sichuan will implement an initiative to enhance the technological innovation capabilities of SMEs, with a key task being the establishment of a mechanism to tackle the "zero research and development" problem among key industrial enterprises above designated size, accelerating the clearance of a batch, focusing efforts on a batch, and fully activating a batch of key enterprises.

Beyond pursuing "newness," the plan also aims to boost "intelligence" and "green" development. It proposes supporting digital, intelligent and green development, with specific measures including implementing a special initiative for digital empowerment of SMEs, supporting characteristic industrial clusters of SMEs in improving green and low-carbon public facilities, and cultivating green parks and zero-carbon parks.

In terms of supporting cluster-based and chain-oriented development, the plan seeks to promote the clustered development of SMEs, advance the integrated development of large, medium and small enterprises, and enhance the ability to stabilize and strengthen industrial chains. Through models such as "cluster plus high-quality enterprise" coordinated development, shared manufacturing, and chain leader linkage, the plan aims to promote the organic connection between cluster cultivation and tiered cultivation of high-quality enterprises, enhance the shared manufacturing capacity of clusters, and advance the integrated development of large, medium and small enterprises.

Additionally, the plan makes dedicated arrangements for increasing financial support, improving services for enterprises, and strengthening the business environment.

In terms of safeguard measures, the plan specifies the establishment of a cross-departmental coordination mechanism and a three-tier linkage mechanism spanning the provincial, municipal and county levels, the coordinated use of fiscal funds at all levels, the strengthening of policy publicity and interpretation as well as the promotion of typical experiences, and the creation of a favorable atmosphere for the high-quality development of small and medium-sized enterprises.