China Unveils 15th Five-Year Plan to Upgrade SMEs and Deepen Tech Support

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and nine other state departments have issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for Promoting the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Covering the 2026 to 2030 planning cycle, the strategy targets 22,000 national-level "Little Giant" enterprises, 600 specialized industrial clusters, and an 8% average annual increase in R&D spending among industrial SMEs above a designated size. The blueprint prioritizes artificial intelligence adoption, inclusive computing power subsidies, direct capital market financing, and the launch of a second national SME development fund.

The plan sets Beijing's policy direction for private enterprise and industrial upgrading over the next half-decade. By focusing on niche technology specialists rather than generic commercial expansion, policymakers are steering fiscal, credit, and equity resources toward emerging and future industries like robotics, quantum computing, and embodied AI. It also establishes measurable benchmarks for enterprise digitization and persistent operational pain points like delayed corporate payments.

Ten Chinese government agencies led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) have released the 15th Five-Year Plan for Promoting the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), establishing strategic priorities and quantitative targets through 2030, according to state media reports. Under the blueprint, China aims to expand its ranks of specialized, refined, differential, and innovative (SRDI) "Little Giant" enterprises to 22,000 by 2030, up from the 17.600 cultivated during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Xinhua reported. The plan also mandates cumulative per capita revenue growth of approximately 15% for SMEs above a designated size, alongside annual average research and development expenditure growth exceeding 8% for industrial SMEs in that tier. The framework outlines seven core tasks and seven dedicated action projects spanning enterprise cultivation, green manufacturing, digital transformation, and legal protection. To accelerate technological adoption, the plan sets strict digital benchmarks: more than 95% of SRDI SMEs must achieve Level-2 digital and intelligent transformation by 2030, with over 80% attaining Level-3 capabilities. Authorities pledged to provide "inclusive computing power" to lower computational costs for smaller firms, while encouraging SMEs to participate in "AI + Manufacturing" programs and open-source software communities. To address structural financing hurdles, the agencies announced plans to establish the National SME Development Fund Phase II, explicitly designed to channel "patient capital" into early-stage, seed-stage, and hard-technology startups. Direct financing channels will also be widened through an SME stock listing incubator pool, expanded SRDI boards on regional equity markets, and the development of a dedicated "Sci-Tech Board" within the domestic bond market. Beyond financing, the plan focuses on clustering and operational safeguards. MIIT targets the creation of 600 national-level characteristic SME industrial clusters and 50 Sino-foreign SME cooperation zones by 2030, aiming to reduce overhead through shared manufacturing and pooled digital infrastructure. The plan also calls for establishing a permanent institutional mechanism to prevent and clear overdue corporate and public payments owed to smaller suppliers, a recurring drag on private sector liquidity.