[Economic Observation] Why can the "strongest hot pot restaurant" have a head start?
Our reporter Shi Lanna
"Workers Daily" (February 23, 2022 Edition 04)
"Trial operation on July 18, 2021, closed due to floods on July 20; resumed business on July 26, closed due to the epidemic on August 1; resumed business on September 3, and affected by the epidemic on November 1, 12 In this month, I worked hard to resume business, and on January 3, 2022, there was an epidemic again, and I was notified that dine-in was banned and temporarily closed..." A poster placed in a hot pot restaurant in Zhengzhou, Henan recorded the store's "Three ups and three downs", in just half a year, the hot pot restaurant that just opened was closed three times due to the epidemic, floods and other reasons.
Recently, this "worst hot pot restaurant" opened again, and netizens also gave it a new title - "the strongest hot pot restaurant".
The hot pot restaurants whose business fluctuated due to the epidemic reflects the plight of the catering industry, small, medium and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households under the repeated epidemics.
On the one hand, the epidemic has had an impact on the offline service industry, and the catering industry is the hardest hit.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, my country's catering revenue in 2020 will be 3,952.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.6%; in 2021, catering revenue will be 4,689.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.6%, but it is still down 1.1% from 2019 and an average two-year decrease of 0.5%.
On the other hand, according to statistics, 90% of my country's self-employed industrial and commercial households are concentrated in the service industry, mainly in wholesale and retail, accommodation and catering, and residential services, while more than 99% of enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises.
Small, medium and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households have weaker risk resistance capabilities and are often more affected.
Although the operation was once faced with a dilemma, in previous media interviews, the manager of the "worst hot pot restaurant" said that he felt that he still had a head start.
The reason why the store manager has the confidence to say this is inseparable from the help of government departments.
Under the successive attacks of the epidemic and floods, Zhengzhou City has supported enterprises to speed up post-disaster reconstruction and resumption of work and production by providing operating cost subsidies to individual industrial and commercial households that have had operational difficulties due to the disaster and have stopped production and business. Strengthen specific policies for financial services and other relief assistance to help small and medium-sized enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households get out of the predicament.
From a national perspective, under the epidemic, the production and operation of small, medium and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households have remained stable, which is inseparable from the assistance of a series of relief policies and the continuous recovery of the national economy.
In 2021, the taxation department will play the role of cross- and counter-cyclical regulation of taxation, continue to implement various tax reduction and fee reduction policies, and add more than 1.1 trillion yuan in tax reduction and fee reduction throughout the year; implement phased reductions in unemployment insurance and work-related injury insurance. The rate policy has increased by 150.4 billion yuan.
Tax cuts and fee reductions have eased the financial pressure of enterprises in stages, while reducing insurance premiums has effectively reduced the burden of social security contributions for enterprises, which has played an important supporting role in stabilizing employment and enterprises.
At the same time, the central bank actively played the role of directional control of re-lending and re-discount policies, increasing the amount of 300 billion yuan for small re-lending, supporting local corporate banks to increase loans to small and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households, and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to defer principal repayment Interest payment to help small, medium and micro enterprises solve financing problems.
Various support policies have been introduced one after another, which strongly supports the stable production and operation of small, medium and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households.
According to data released by the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, the SME development index in January 2022 was 89.4, rising for three consecutive months.
Of course, with the support of "real money", relevant market players also need to "practice their internal skills", make up for shortcomings, improve production and service quality, pay attention to scientific and technological innovation, and enhance disaster prevention capabilities.
It is believed that with the support of policies and their own efforts, small, medium and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households will be as "good luck" as "Good Luck" played in the "Most Strong Hot Pot Restaurant".