Yu Heng, a NPC deputy and an official of the Henan Provincial Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs, said that various localities should introduce detailed rules for the implementation of the new laws, so as to guide such enterprises to move in the direction of specialized production, and production of new and high-tech products.

"Now most small and medium-sized enterprises do not fare well in operations," he said, adding that their restructuring and rise out of financial difficulty are crucial to China's overall situation.

He called for effective measures to be taken to stop government departments from levying illicit fines and fees on such enterprises.

He criticized some government offices and financial institutions for failing to render adequate support to such enterprises.

Central China's Henan Province currently has 683,000 manufacturers, with small and medium-sized enterprises accounting for 99.8 percent of the total and 78 percent of the manufacturers' work force, he said.

Such enterprises contribute 81 percent to Henan's gross domestic product from the industrial sector and 55 percent of the province's tax revenues from the industrial sector, he added.

"The figures show that small and medium-sized enterprises constitute the principal part of all enterprises," he said.

He asked such enterprises to take the road of invigorating themselves by means of science and technology, try to increase technological exchanges with colleges and research institutes, particularly with their foreign colleagues, and increase the technological content of their products.

(Xinhua 03/13/2001)