China Targets Malpractice by Intermediaries in Specialized Enterprise Evaluations

People's Daily reported that four Chinese authorities, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, issued a notice to curb harmful agencies from impacting the cultivation and identification of high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises. Provincial authorities overseeing small and medium-sized enterprises must strengthen review mechanisms and standardize full-process supervision during reviews and preliminary recommendations. They are directed to apply rigorous review procedures that prevent agencies from disrupting assessments, while clearly communicating policies and addressing common questions to eliminate information discrepancies. Authorities responsible for small and medium-sized enterprises, cyberspace, and intellectual property will jointly crack down on agencies spreading false statements, distorting policies, posting deceptive service advertising, or soliciting clients through guaranteed approval promises. Officials must also verify key data, explore patent screening mechanisms, and evaluate artificial intelligence and big data technologies. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plans to strictly administer specialized 'little giant' reviews going forward. The ministry will conduct quality assessments, special inspections, and unannounced inspections across enterprises to maintain recognition standards and guard against adverse agency actions.

Enterprises discovered falsifying documentation or data will have their qualifications revoked by small and medium-sized enterprise departments and will face a three-year ban on reapplying. Additionally, typical cases of wrongdoing involving illicit intermediary organizations will be officially published on the enterprise gradient cultivation platform.