And with small and midsize businesses getting extra attention from the government this year. CGTN's Feng Yilei talked to people in the business community of the Chinese city of Shenyang to hear their perspective.

Small, flexible yet powerful, these honeycomb structures made at a small factory prop up the high speeds of bullet trains. Similar to the tiny components, tens of millions of small firms like this one contribute to the majority of China's economy and employment.

But Yang Ning, the company manager, tells us that they have long faced difficulties in getting bank loans to expand their business.

YANG NING, GENERAL MANAGER SHENYANG HONEYCOMB RAIL TRANSPORT ANCILLARY FACILITIES "We've been growing fast amid China's railway development. But we don't have much tangible property for mortgage loans. We have tried various banking products but get very few results."

And this is not an isolated case in China. Nearly nine out of every ten small companies are said to have trouble getting money from financial institutions. Many still rely on private lending, and some even end up in debt traps.

Song Biao, head of the local SME association, sees a long-standing hurdle-A stigma that SMEs have poor credit, bad operations and a short corporate life cycle.

SONG BIAO, CHAIRMAN SME ASSOCIATION OF SHENYANG "Local authorities have taken many measures, like setting loan guarantee platforms and bridge loan funds, to somewhat change the situation. But it helps only a few companies. Direct funds from government can hardly fill the big demand."

Yang Ning's firm is a lucky one. Preferential policies will soon allow him to use his "honeycomb" patent as intangible property to borrow from the bank. The local government's intellectual property office, financing guarantee companies and the Industrial Bank have come together to share the risk.

YANG NING, GENERAL MANAGER SHENYANG HONEYCOMB RAIL TRANSPORT ANCILLARY FACILITIES "It's a breakthrough in corporate financing. Once in place, it can bring us 5 to 8 million in the short term. That's a small amount but very important to our working capital and it keeps us viable."

While China's central government calls on banks to increase their lending and lower thresholds for small enterprises.

An industrial bank branch manager says they are pushed to improve their financial services. Ones that deal with conditions that traditional products cannot cover.

PAN LEI, GENERAL MANAGER CORPORATE FINANCE DEPT., INDUSTRIAL BANK SHENYANG BRANCH "Our new attempts aim at SMEs' particular operation features and financing needs. For example, other than solutions for tech companies, we also develop supply-chain financing services for trading companies without collateral. That is, we trace capital, material and information flow between the borrower with its core business partner- trusty companies on the supply chain- to make sure the firm is doing okay."

But lenders have their own worries, namely, whether companies use the money to conduct normal business rather than speculate on the market and whether and how they can repay the loans. The banker says small business lending lacks solid information. At the annual meeting of China's lop legislature, some delegates addressed the issue.

XU LIYI, MAYOR HANGZHOU MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT "Apart from providing guarantees and incentive mechanisms, government should take the lead to build a credit system that combines information of taxpaying, employment, fees and much more with big data technology. Our city has done a lot, but there's still a long way to go to serve financial institutes across the country."

In the central government's recent work report, Premier Li Keqiang admits that challenges of SME financing remain. Authorities will continue to roll out monetary policies to funnel capital to small businesses.

And a goal is set for big state-owned commercial banks to increase their loans to small firms by over 30 percent in 2019.

Meanwhile, the nation's top regulators also note that more work should be done in other financial sectors, in addition to banking.

FENG YILEI SHENYANG, LIAONING PROVINCE "Here, Yang Ning's manufacturing company has just been listed at this local equity exchange centre. The manager expects to get some 20 million yuan with equity pledges in the long run. China is determined to make full use of direct financing methods, like regional equity markets, bond and insurance, to better support the growth of small enterprises. And that may require a bit of innovation."

But experts say the core of the financing dilemma remains the vitality of small business. After all, who would dare lend with no hope of payback? Efforts to improve the overall business environment are also on the agenda.

SONG BIAO, CHAIRMAN SME ASSOCIATION OF SHENYANG "If everyone can make timely payments, it will be more helpful than loans for SMEs suffering from cash flow gaps. And we will also strive to raise our competitiveness in the market and work together towards fair and transparent deals."

As for Yang Ning, he will soon benefit from a new round of tax relief on manufacturing and transport corporates groups. With additional support from rising companies in backbone industries, despite the critical financing situation, he has faith in making more honey out of his "honeycombs". Feng Yilei, CGTN, Shenyang, Liaoning Province.