Perceived impact of the Covid-19 crisis on SMEs in different industry sectors: Evidence from Sichuan, China

Abstract The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has led to a global public health disaster and global economic crisis and significantly impacted industries across the world. As China was the first to feel the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak, it was also the first to overcome the effects and resume economic production. To understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on SMEs in China and suggest public policies to deal with the negative effects, in February 2020, this paper examined the impacts on 3194 SMEs from primary, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, hospitality (accommodation and catering), and new economy industries in Sichuan, China using an online survey and follow-up interviews. It was found that the effects differed by industry sector: the primary industry sector by poor logistics; the manufacturing industry sector by supply chain management problems; the wholesale and retail trade industry sector by the need to accelerate their online services; the hospitality industry sector, the most severely affected sector, by cash flow pressure; and the new economy industry sector by short-term pressures. Short-term revenue declines and an inability to resume work and production were common problems faced by all surveyed SMEs. These findings from Sichuan, China provide some valuable references for global industry recovery.