Five departments issue a notice on implementing interest subsidy policies for loans for small and medium-sized enterprises, supporting emerging fields represented by artificial intelligence.

On January 20, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the People's Bank of China, and the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued a notice on the implementation of the interest subsidy policy for loans to small and medium-sized enterprises. The notice mentions support for key industry chains and upstream and downstream industries related to industries such as new energy vehicles, industrial mother machines, pharmaceutical industry, medical equipment, basic software and industrial software, civil large aircraft, servers, mobile communication equipment, new displays, instruments, industrial Siasun Robot & Automation, rail transportation equipment, ships and marine engineering equipment, agricultural machinery equipment, and other related industries. It also includes productive service industries such as technology services, logistics services, information and software services, energy conservation and environmental protection services, productive leasing services, and commercial services, as well as the agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery sectors and the processing industry of agricultural and sideline products, and emerging sectors represented by artificial intelligence. Regarding the new policy financing instruments and fixed asset loans for small and medium-sized private enterprises starting from January 1, 2026, the central government will provide a subsidy of 1.5 percentage points annually on the loan principal for a maximum period of 2 years, with a maximum limit of 50 million yuan per loan. The policy implementation period is initially set at 1 year, with the possibility of extension depending on the situation. The same loan cannot receive the subsidy under any other central government interest subsidy policy. The original text includes detailed instructions and procedures for the application, disbursement, pre-allocation of funds, audit, settlement, and clearance of the interest subsidies for small and medium-sized enterprises. It also outlines the roles and responsibilities of the relevant departments and banks involved in implementing the policy.