Smaller businesses in China, long squeezed by overdue payments, have gained a boost in support as the government moves to expand access to finance and pushes listed companies to shorten payment periods.
Chinese government departments pledged to step up these measures on Monday at a State Council policy briefing. Officials at the briefing outlined priorities for tackling payment delays faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Officials from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said they will further increase financing support for SMEs and urge listed companies to improve information disclosure to create market constraints.
"For companies issuing bonds in the interbank market, we will strengthen disclosure of accounts payable information and continue to support companies in replacing accounts payable through loans and bond issuance. For companies that have significantly reduced arrears and payment periods, we will provide financing facilitation in bond issuance and other areas," said Cao Yuanyuan, head of the Department of Financial Markets at the PBOC.
"We will refine disclosure requirements to encourage listed companies to shorten payment terms and ensure timely payments to SMEs. Additionally, we are increasing visits to listed companies to help listed SMEs recover outstanding payments and ease cash flow pressures," said Guo Ruiming, director of the Listed Company Regulation Department at the CSRC.
An official from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council said a meeting of central government enterprises will be held this week to push the companies to strictly regulate payment behavior.
"Central government enterprises must take the lead in avoiding payment defaults and delays. We will ensure that such arrears are cleared on a rolling basis. They must also lead by example in issuing fewer commercial bills and making more cash payments. We have launched a QR-code complaint platform for arrears owed by central enterprises on the official SASAC website. We will urge these enterprises to verify, process and respond to complaints rapidly across all channels, whether online or offline, in strict accordance with laws, regulations and contractual agreements," said Pei Renquan, head of the Financial Management and Operations Evaluation Bureau at the SASAC.
According to another official from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the administration has launched a 2026 special enforcement action against unfair competition.
"For large enterprises that abuse their dominant position to deliberately lengthen payment periods by blurring the starting point for payment periods, delaying inspection and acceptance of goods and services, including project settlement, or using commercial bills or electronic vouchers to covertly extend payment deadlines, we will impose penalties in accordance with laws and regulations once verified," said Zhou Weijun, director of the Credit Supervision and Management Department at the SAMR.
China moves to shorten payment terms for small businesses facing cash crunch
