In response to the impact of the recent COVID-19 outbreaks and to further help market entities, Xiamen in Fujian province issued 12 measures covering five aspects to help relieve the burden of market entities.

In order to increase financial support, Xiamen encourages refinancing, rediscounting and inclusive small and micro loan support methods to promote the flow of credit funds to small and medium-sized companies.

Xiamen has fully implemented the national taxation support policy to minimize the tax burden on Xiamen businesses. Companies that are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic from April to June can request for a housing fund deferral in accordance with the regulations, and employees who are affected by the epidemic can pay their housing funds late without being charged interest.

Xiamen implements initiatives to lower business operating costs for eligible small and micro businesses and individuals, such as waiving rent for at least three months.

In order to support companies to stabilize their employment, Xiamen continues to implement the phase-down unemployment insurance policy from May to December 2022.

Xiamen is also taking a number of steps to help the recovery of epidemic-affected sectors like consumption, exhibitions, transportation, and travel agencies.

For example, from April to June, the city is organizing online consumption promotion activities. It is also providing financial assistance to exhibitions that were originally slated to take place between September 2021 and March 2022, but were pushed back to June 30 because of the outbreak. From April through December, several levels of awards will be granted to eligible travel firms for organizing domestic tourists in Xiamen.

A bird's-eye view of Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]