00:00Now, China has unveiled plans to turbocharge the small and medium-sized enterprises.
00:05It's as part of its 15th five-year plan, which runs until 2030.
00:10And Catherine Drew has been taking a closer look.
00:12Hello, Catherine.
00:12Hi, Sally. Thank you.
00:13Yes, jointly issued by 10 central government departments,
00:16China has revealed its plans to boost its SME sector to grow in both quality and scale,
00:22with a goal of accumulating revenue growth of around 15% by 2030.
00:26Now, the government aims to nearly double its elite crop of specialized tech firms known as little giants,
00:32pushing the total number of nationally recognized companies to 22,000.
00:37Now, that is double the target set out in the previous five-year plan.
00:42Focusing on the AI sector, China will set up 10 high-standard technology business incubators
00:48and 10 national demonstration platforms or bases for SMEs.
00:52It will also cultivate 10 new national-level specialized industrial clusters.
00:58Now, at the same time, China is pushing AI in developing smart fitness infrastructure,
01:03such as smart gym operations and wearable tech.
01:06This is part of a larger goal to nearly double the size of its sports industry
01:11to more than $1 trillion by 2030.
01:15Now, the aim is not only to encourage and develop elite athletes,
01:18but also to get the whole country moving more so all ages enjoy sport as a way to boost public
01:25health.
01:26Now, this is what officials want to see.
01:29Fans chanting, enjoying themselves and spending money.
01:32Here at the Jiangsu Football City League, known as Suchao,
01:36the province only established the league last year,
01:38but nearly 2.5 million people turned out to watch matches in its inaugural season.
01:43An example of how city superleagues and village superleagues
01:46have emerged as serious economic engines for those local economies.
01:51Now, a leading figure in China's General Administration of Sport, Yang Shui-dong,
01:55said new business models, such as live streaming and virtual sports,
01:59were giving the sports industry the wings of technology.
02:02Further growth in AI, of course, could see opportunities in the area soar even more.
02:07Now, Grace Yuhan Wang is the author of the book Dragon Innovation Shenzhen
02:13and a visiting scholar at the London School of Economics.
02:16She says China's little giants are proving crucial to growth.
02:21In 2025, the private enterprises actually contribute to more than 80% of China's little giants.
02:29So, it's just like the little giants are playing a more important role in China's economy and its growth.
02:38This actually shows the increasingly significant role of China's private economy,
02:44which I think shows China's economic vitality
02:48and China's ongoing, deepening economic structural improvement.
02:54Now, Grace, you've looked at the transformation of cities like Shenzhen.
02:58What is it about these small and medium businesses?
03:02How do they turn these great business ideas into successful companies?
03:07As I've written in my book, Dragon Innovation Shenzhen,
03:10I emphasize the effective local governance,
03:14for instance, government support and kind of institutional support.
03:19So, that is critical to the rise and the growth of small to medium firms.
03:25And second, I want to say, actually, institutional support includes a lot of things.
03:31For instance, entrepreneur support organizations or universities or even families.
03:36They are all part of important institutions in the innovation ecosystem.
03:41So, I think they jointly contribute to the institutional environment in Shenzhen
03:48or in other innovation hubs in China.
03:50China is known, really, for staging some blockbuster sporting events.
03:55And, of course, we've seen the rise of the city super leagues, the village super leagues.
04:00We've seen football fans enjoying themselves and, more importantly,
04:03spending money, perhaps, for these local economies.
04:06How important is sport as a sector?
04:09Sport, I think, is a very important sector.
04:13And the importance of sport is actually increasing because a lot of young people in China,
04:20they are paying a lot of attention to their health, to their entertainment.
04:26So, I think that is one critical part of sports as part of the national economy.
04:32And second, I think the sports sector is important because it's part of the national public health strategy.
04:39So, I think increasing the sports sector is not only to facilitate consumption in the economy,
04:47but also to improve people's physical strengths as well.
04:53So, when we look at these small and medium enterprises,
04:56is it a lack of funding or a scramble for funding, which is the main obstacle, would you say?
05:02Well, I think for all the entrepreneurs, no matter where they are, right,
05:06I think funding is always a problem.
05:08But according to my research and my observation,
05:13actually, young generational tech entrepreneurs in China, as written in my book,
05:18some of them are finding very novel ways to raise funds.
05:21For instance, one company I interviewed,
05:24they actually used crowdfunding platforms in America to raise their first fund
05:30because they want to know what kind of target audiences their product can cover.
05:37So, they want to use this kind of crowdfunding platform.
05:39Besides that, you know, we have, you know, venture capitalism or government fund.
05:44So, I think there are a variety of funding resources in China.
05:47The key, I think, is still what kind of artificial intelligence product or services
05:53the entrepreneurs are providing.
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