To support struggling small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), China's State Council will hold a conference in September for SMEs to discuss policies for the sector's development, sources said Monday at the APEC SMEs Forum.

SMEs are experiencing the greatest hardships this year and are at great risk of debt disputes, said Gu Shengzu, member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, Shanghai Securities News reported Wednesday.

As an example of the problematic financing situation for SMEs, Gu noted that around 80 percent of SMEs in Zhejiang province are currently on private debts. Private debts exacerbate financial pressures due to the interest on capital, which can reach an annual interest rate of up to 120 percent.

To reduce financing costs for SMEs, State Council advisor Chen Quansheng proposed that more regional small private shareholding banks are needed to balance the information imbalance between banks and SMEs, the newspaper reported.

The government will give more consideration to SMEs in policies, especially the country's key supported micro business industry, Zhu Hongren, chief engineer at Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

Zhu said that the country will build a more favorable environment for SMEs, China Securities News reported Wednesday.