China to empower SMEs with digital technologies

China detailed measures on March 19 in a guideline to fuel the use of digital technologies among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as part of efforts to tide them over the tough time.

The country will support the use of information technology in controlling the novel coronavirus so that SMEs can resume work in an orderly manner, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The ministry will support SMEs in applying digital tools such as video conference to resume operation and encourage online office software developers to upgrade services and lower the costs for SMEs.

The MIIT will also promote the use of cloud services among SMEs to allow them to access more resources and launch training programs to help them be more digital-savvy.