In the past two years, if we were to discuss which industries have faced the most challenges, I believe there are five types of people who would undoubtedly make the list. The reason is straightforward: due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, many people's sources of income have been significantly affected, and in some cases, this has led to a sharp decline in earnings and financial hardship.
In today's society, where the cost of living is so high, such circumstances indeed make life extremely difficult for many. Fortunately, the relevant state departments have taken notice of this situation. To mitigate the adverse effects brought about by the pandemic, they have recently issued a notice to reduce rent for individual businesses in five industries for six months and have also implemented seven measures to lower the operational costs of these industries.
Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission and 14 other departments jointly issued the "Several Policies on Promoting the Recovery and Development of Difficult Industries in the Service Sector." It includes clear provisions, which I will read for you first: For small and micro enterprises and individual businesses listed as high or medium-risk areas for the pandemic in 2022, if they rent state-owned properties, they will be exempt from rent for six months; those in other areas can have their rent reduced for three months.
At the same time, for those renting non-state-owned properties, localities will coordinate various funds to provide assistance, and also encourage the lessors of non-state-owned properties to reasonably share the losses brought about by the pandemic on the basis of equal consultation.
What does this mean? Let me explain it for you:
Essentially, it means that if you are running a business and rent a property from the state, and if it is listed as a high or medium-risk area, you can have your rent waived for six months. If it is not listed as such, you can have your rent waived for three months. If you rent from an individual or a company, the state will provide certain subsidies and encourage both parties to share the pandemic-related losses.
Speaking of which, such policies are indeed very good. It is important to recognize that the businesses most affected by the pandemic in recent years have likely been the numerous small and micro businesses. They rent storefronts and work tirelessly from dawn to dusk, earning their money through hard work. However, after the pandemic struck, many businesses had no income at all, yet they still had to continue paying rent. It is important to remember that behind every storefront is a family's livelihood, which is indeed quite distressing.At the same time, for the five industries that have been more severely affected, namely catering, retail, tourism, transportation, and civil aviation, targeted relief measures have been specifically proposed. For instance, for catering businesses, seven measures have been suggested, such as subsidizing the cost of nucleic acid testing, guiding food delivery platforms to reduce service charges, and lowering the operating costs of catering businesses.
It has to be said that such policies are very much in touch with the ground realities and have indeed taken into account the actual difficulties faced by these industries that have been severely impacted by the pandemic. They have also proposed some targeted solutions. The next step is to see how local government departments will implement and advance these measures. I sincerely hope that the relevant departments can pay attention to these issues and help to effectively solve the practical difficulties faced by small and micro businesses. Let's work together to overcome the difficulties.
In fact, in 2020, when the pandemic first began and was at its most severe, many places in our country introduced related measures, such as rent reductions, targeted subsidies, tax relief, lowering the thresholds for bank loans, and loan repayment extensions, which were quite effective and did indeed solve many people's practical difficulties.
I sincerely hope that the pandemic will end soon, returning us to a stable, healthy, and stable economic and social environment, where everyone can earn money and have a place to work. I also hope that the relevant national departments will pay more attention to these industries affected by the pandemic, allowing them to weather this difficult period. I believe that through our joint efforts, hope lies ahead!
So, how has the pandemic affected your life over the past few years?
Everyone is welcome to leave a comment and discuss together.
