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BEIJING, Jan. 8-- The State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang Wednesday made arrangements for ensuring that government departments and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) clear their arrear payments to private firms and small and medium-sized enterprises, and required that resolute efforts be made to see the work through. Clearing payment arrears owed to private and small businesses bears on the market economic order, business environment and market expectations. Government's credibility is also at stake. It was noted at the meeting that by the end of last year, some 75 percent of the more than 890 billion yuan (about 128 billion U.S. dollars) of such arrears identified nationwide had been paid up, exceeding the original target of making no less than half of the arrear payments in 2019. The meeting urged redoubled efforts to see that due responsibilities be effectively fulfilled and that by the end of this year, all undisputed arrears be cleared as much as possible. Where dispute exists, the arrears problem should be addressed more efficiently through mediation, consultation and judicial means, and there must be no new arrears incurred. "Strong efforts have been made in clearing such payment arrears and progress has been made in this regard. Yet the government shall still not let up work on this front. A major part of overdue payments are owed by government authorities and state-owned enterprises to private, small businesses," Li noted. "This has made ill impact to government credit, to our business environment and market confidence, as well as to people's lives." | 
