China’s government bodies to pay SMEs on time

Premier Li Keqiang announced this at a State Council Executive Meeting recently where he said, “We introduced a regulation with explicit stipulations on this matter. We must make sure they are effectively enforced.”

He said this was to allow SMEs to ensure migrant workers receive their pay on time and in full.

Delinquent payments by government bodies, public institutions and large state-owned enterprises to SMEs will be strictly investigated, and accountability will be diligently enforced. Serious acts of bad faith will be disclosed to the public.

In addition, government bodies, public institutions and large enterprises must not coerce smaller firms into accepting non-cash payment methods, such as commercial acceptance bills, and must not misuse commercial acceptance bills to use smaller firms’ funds in a disguised form.

“Wage arrears for migrant workers are closely related to this issue. There are nearly 290 million migrant workers in China. Wages are the major source of income for rural residents in China. Governments at all levels and SOEs should lead by example to clear arrears, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises must also pay migrant workers the remunerations they deserve as the laws and regulations require.

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“Supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises is supporting job creation, and securing wage payment for migrant workers is securing people’s well-being”, Li said, according to China Daily.