PeoplevisitintangibleculturalheritageareaattheculturalindustryexhibitioninGuangzhou,Guangdongprovince,March9,2023.[Photo/VCG]

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Guangzhou,thecapitalofChina"sprosperousGuangdongprovince,recentlyimplemented38policymeasuresaimedatboostingtheprivatesectorastheworldemergesfromthepandemic.Whilethesepoliciesarewelcomenewsforsmallbusinessesinthearea,theyarealsoemblematicofChina"sbroadereffortstosupportsmallbusinessesandpromoteeconomicgrowththisyear.

China"seffortstosupportmicro-,small-andmedium-sizedenterprises(MSMEs)arecriticaltoeconomicgrowth.PrivateMSMEsareestimatedtocontribute50%oftaxes,60%ofGDP,70%oftechnologicalinnovation,and80%ofemployment,andaccountfor90%ofallcompaniesinthecountry.It"sclearthatMSMEsareavitalpartofChina"seconomicecosystemandsupportingthemisessentialtopromotinglong-termgrowthandstability.

AssomeonewhorunsaboutiquecreativeagencyinGuangzhou,Ihavebeencloselyfollowingtheimplementationofthesepolicymeasuresandhaveexperiencedtheirimpactfirsthand.Inthewakeofthepandemic,manysmallbusinesseswerestrugglingtokeepthedoorsopen,butthecity"staxexemptions,supportforMSMEs,andsubsidiesfornewlyopenedinternationalanddomesticcargorouteshaveprovidedmuch-neededrelief.Asaresult,we"vebeenabletoreinvestinouroperations,whichhashelpedusbetterserveourclients.What"smore,we"venoticedagrowingwillingnessamongclientstoinvestincreativeservices,whichisaclearsignthatthebusinessclimateinGuangzhouandacrossChinaisimproving.

ThesignsofChina"seconomicrecoveryaremorethanjustanecdotal.TheNationalBureauofStatisticsreportsthatthecountry"smanufacturingsectorrecordedaPMIof50.1inJanuary,indicatingareturntoexpansionterritory,withthenewordersindexalsorisingby7percentagepointsto50.9%.BehindthesefiguresaremillionsofsmallfirmsacrossChinabeginningtoseemorebusinessandbenefitingfromsupportivepolicymeasures.

China"sdedicationtofosteringafavorablebusinessclimateisevidentinthepoliciesimplementedbyGuangzhouandothercities.Thesepoliciessignalthegovernment"scommitmenttosupportingsmallbusinessesandpromotingeconomicgrowth,ashighlightedattheannualCentralEconomicWorkConferencelastDecember.

Thisdedicationisbeginningtopayoff,withforeignbusinessleadersexpressingincreasedconfidenceintheChineseeconomyandmarketin2023comparedtothepreviousyear.China"seconomyisexpectedtogrowby5.2%in2023,accordingtotheInternationalMonetaryFund.InvestmentbankslikeMorganStanleyandGoldmanSachshavealsoraisedtheirgrowthforecastsforChina,withJ.P.Morgansayinginaresearchnotethat,"Webelieve5%willremainthisyear"sgrowthtarget,though,inpractice,5%isperhapsnowbeinginterpretedasaminimum."

TheU.K.tradecommissionerforChina,JohnEdwards,recentlycommentedtotheGlobalTimesthatBritishcompaniesarefeelingincreasinglyconfidentabouttheChineseeconomyandmarketin2023,withmanycompaniesexpectingtoexpandtheirinvestmentandtradecooperationinthecountry.

DespitethehighlevelofbusinessconfidenceinChina,thecountryisnotimmunetoglobaleconomicheadwindsarisingfromacombinationoffactors,includingaslowdowninworldwideeconomicgrowth,risingtradetensionsandpoliticaluncertainty.ThishasputastrainonbusinessconfidenceandhasaffectedChina"seconomicprospects.Nevertheless,Chinahasweatheredthestormbetterthanmostcountries,andforeigncompaniesarecontinuingtoinvestinthecountry.InJanuary2023,China"sforeigndirectinvestmentroseby14.5%yearonyearto127.69billionyuan,whichisatestamenttotheresilienceandattractivenessofChina"seconomy.

ItisalsoencouragingtoseethelatestChinaconsumersurveybyUBSGroupAGshowinganotableincreaseindiningout,shoppinginstoresandofflineentertainment.Thisuptickinconsumerconfidencebodeswellfortheeconomicrecoveryinthecountryandhasalreadyhadapositiveimpactonsmallbusinesses.Themoreconfidentconsumersfeelaboutspendingmoney,themorelikelytheyaretoinvestincreativeserviceslikeours,whichiscrucialforthegrowthandexpansionofourbusiness.

Aswelooktothefuture,it"sclearthatpolicieslikethoseimplementedbyGuangzhouarecrucialtotheeconomicprospectsofmillionsofsmallbusinessesacrossChina.Theynotonlysignalthegovernment"scommitmenttosupportingsmallbusinessesbutalsodemonstrateadedicationtopromotingeconomicgrowthandfosteringafavorablebusinessclimate.ThesepolicieswillcontinuetopositivelyimpacttheglobaleconomyandthefutureofbusinessinChina.

JayIanBirbeckisafreelancecolumnistbasedinGuangzhou.

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