China's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continued to post steady and positive growth in 2025, with value-added output of industrial SMEs above the designated size rising 6.9 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The update was released at a State Council Information Office press conference on industrial and information technology development held on Wednesday, where Zhang Yunming, the ministry's vice minister, outlined the high-quality development progresses of SMEs in 2025.
"In 2025, the value-added output of industrial SMEs above the designated size rose by 6.9 percent year on year, while the SME export index reached 52.4 percent in December, continued the steady expansion for 21 consecutive months," he said.
Over the past year, China has cumulatively nurtured 17,600 specialized and innovative “little giant” enterprises, more than 140,000 specialized and innovative SMEs, and more than 600,000 technology- and innovation-oriented SMEs. These “little giant” enterprises have an average research and development investment intensity of 7 percent, with a total of 460,000 invention patents, averaging 26.6 per enterprise, highlighting strong innovation capacity.
"Authorities will formulate a dedicated plan to promote SME development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. We will fully implement regulations aimed at ensuring timely payments to SMEs, intensify efforts to clear overdue payments while resolutely curbing new arrears, and better protect the legitimate rights and interests of SMEs. Revisions to SME classification standards will also be accelerated to improve the precision and effectiveness of policy support," Zhang said.
Further measures will focus on building mechanisms to support the growth of specialized and innovative SMEs to produce novel and unique products, establishing the first group of national SME public service demonstration platforms and bases, and rolling out a three-year action plan for tiered cultivation of high-quality enterprises. China will also explore the creation of specialized and innovative empowerment centers for SMEs, improve the tiered development system for SME-focused industrial clusters, and promote coordinated and integrated development among large, medium and small enterprises, he added.
China's major SMEs register positive annual growth in 2025
Multiple civic groups in the Republic of Korea (ROK) gathered on Wednesday in Seoul to call on the Japanese government to face up to its history and offer a sincere apology and remorse.
The civic groups, composed of student representatives and social activists from various organizations, including those advocating for the rights of "comfort women," rallied in front of the embassy of Japan.
Demonstrators said recent moves by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi deny Japan's history of aggression and are a sign of the resurgence of militarism.
Since Takaichi took office as prime minister, Japan has embarked on an accelerated path toward military buildup, steadily departing from its exclusively defense-oriented policy.
Recent risky steps -- sharply increasing the defense budget, restructuring the Self-Defense Forces to enhance combat capabilities, deploying long-range missiles with so-called "counterstrike capabilities," as well as relentless efforts to revise the Constitution, the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles" and the three security documents -- all point to a deliberate departure from Japan's postwar pacifist principles and an advance toward remilitarization.
Takaichi, on April 21, sent a ritual "masakaki" tree offering and made a monetary offering to the controversial shrine, which honors 14 convicted Class-A Japanese war criminals from World War II alongside the war dead.
"The Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Class-A Japanese war criminals from World War II (WWII), stands as a symbol of Japanese militarism," said Kim Tae Jung, a civic group member.
"Presenting offerings at a shrine that honors war criminals demonstrates that the Japanese government has shown no remorse for its war crimes and the move is a ruthless trampling on the feelings of war victims," said Han Kyung Hee, another civic group member.
Demonstrators said the international community should be vigilant against Japan as the country seeks to revert to militarism.
"The international community should make it clear that Japanese militarism is threatening stability in Northeast Asia. Only by voicing support for peace rather than strengthening military cooperation can Japan’s ambition of rearmament be contained, and the war be prevented," said Kim.
"Japan has shown no remorse and has not adopted a responsible attitude. On the contrary, it has repeatedly blocked the erection of statues of young women who symbolize 'comfort women.' A country like this now seeks to regain the right to wage war, which undoubtedly poses a grave threat to peace in Northeast Asia," said Han.
ROK civic groups call on Japanese government to face up to history
