THE government will continue to roll out measures to shore up market entities of all types, according to Pu Chun, deputy head of the State Administration for Market Regulation. To further ease the burden on firms, China will toughen its crackdown on irregular fee charges by government bodies and industry associations as well as in the fields of transport, public services and financial institutions, said Pu. By the end of April, China’s market entities rose by 10.5% from a year earlier to reach 158 million. Nearly 9 million were established in the first four months of this year, according to Pu. Pu said the steady expansion helped underpin China’s macroeconomic fundamentals and signaled the economy’s “strong resilience and potential” amid a complex and grim environment. “Market entities are expected to sustain rapid growth as the current COVID-19 situation comes under control and policies keep injecting momentum,” Pu said. Some market entities are faced with unexpected difficulties, the official said, “but the country is ramping up policy support, and market entities’ adaptability keeps growing.” He called for more efforts to anchor market expectations, boost market confidence and create a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment. To this end, the country has pushed forward multiple reforms to streamline administrative procedures and broaden market access, with special attention paid to nurturing self-employed households, Pu said. (Xinhua) | 