China’s State Council decided at a meeting on March 31 to enhance the country’s monetary response to Covid-19, including a further reduction in the amount of cash some banks must hold in reserve to provide further assistance to small and midsize businesses.

The meeting, chaired by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said China will make further targeted cuts to required reserve ratios (RRRs) for small and medium banks. The government will also increase the banks’ re-lending and rediscount quotas by 1 trillion yuan ($141 billion), to encourage the issuance of more loans at concessional rates to micro, small and midsize companies.