China's State Council issued Tuesday a document to foster the development of the country's small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The government will deepen reforms in the country's monopoly industries, lower the market access threshold for the SMEs and create a more open and fair competition environment for SMEs, said the document.

One of the measures is for the government to increase its procurement mechanism by purchasing more commodities, engineering and services from the SMEs.

The government will also grant a one-year reprieve on social security fund to the SMEs in operational difficulty amid the global financial crisis, in a bid to reduce financial burdens and protect the interests of the SMEs.

It will expand channels for the SMEs to raise capital through encouraging banks to lend more to the SMEs, stepping up making policies to guide private capital to tap into the country's financial system.

The government will increase tax breaks to the small firms with an annual taxable income below 30,000 yuan (4392.4 U.S. dollars) from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of 2010.

In addition, the government will also encourage the SMEs to improve their technological innovation capacities, enhance the product quality, and promote development in energy conservation and clean production.

The move followed a framework announced by the government in August to shore up the SMEs hit by the global economic downturn.

The SMEs are more dynamic in terms of growth and job creation.  With the international financial crisis, however, the SMEs have been hit harder than large corporations.  The SMEs have long had difficulty in fund raising and have been experiencing declining profits.

"We should take more positive and effective measures to help the SMEs ride out the crisis," said the Industry and Information Technology Minister Li Yizhong at the opening ceremony of the 6th China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair on Tuesday.