China will increase support for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and unicorn companies to foster new quality productive forces and help enterprises expand markets and unleash vitality, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Monday.

So far, China has cultivated about 141,000 innovative SMEs that use specialized, sophisticated technologies to produce novel or unique products, including 14,600 "little giant" firms, Wang Jiangping, vice minister of industry and information technology told a press conference.

These companies have played an important role in promoting new industrialization and developing new quality productive forces, Wang said, adding that the MIIT will work with relevant departments to roll out mechanisms to promote the development of such SMEs and boost the high-quality growth of the enterprises.

Wang noted that further efforts will be made to support the digital transformation and financing of the companies. For "little giant" firms -- which refer to the novel elites of SMEs that are engaged in manufacturing, specialize in a niche market and boast cutting-edge technologies -- China will use the central government budget to support them in achieving new technological breakthroughs, developing new products and strengthening the industrial chain to boost their scientific and technological innovation.

China has seen a growing number of unicorn companies in recent years, with over half of last year's new unicorns emerging in rapidly developing technology sectors like new energy, artificial intelligence and semiconductors, according to the ministry.

The MIIT has vowed to support the listing, mergers and acquisitions, and restructuring of unicorn firms and promote the growth of such companies in future industries such as the brain-computer interface and 6G sectors. It has also vowed support for such firms to integrate into the global innovation network and enhance innovation cooperation.

In the fourth quarter of this year, China will launch specific measures to promote consumption and domestic demand in order to help enterprises expand the market and unleash vitality, the vice minister said.

It will promote investment in the projects of technical transformation and upgrading as well as equipment renewal, and accelerate the issuance of re-loans worth 150 billion yuan (about 21.21 billion U.S. dollars) to support such projects.

To expand consumption, China will promote electric bicycle trade-ins and increase promotion efforts for new energy vehicles, Wang said, adding that it will also help develop sectors such as the low-altitude economy and smart manufacturing to create new engines for economic growth.

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