China to nurture over 4,000 SMEs as digital transformation models

BEIJING -- China will build 4,000 to 6,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into digital transformation models amid the country's push for developing its digital economy.

From 2022 to 2025, China will use central financial funds to support SMEs in digital transformation pilot, and further improve digital platforms that provide public services for SMEs, according to a circular jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Ministry of Finance Wednesday.

The move aims to nurture a batch of SMEs into specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products, upgrade the industrial foundation and promote the modernization of industrial chains, the circular said.

These SMEs will be selected from 100 industries, including automobile, textile and pharmaceutical sectors.

Through the pilot project, typical digital transformation patterns for SMEs will be summarized, while a batch of "little lighthouse" enterprises with replicable digital transformation experience will be fostered, according to the circular.

China's digital economy increased from 11 trillion yuan ($1.62 trillion) in 2012 to over 45 trillion yuan in 2021, data showed.