The practice was introduced to promote employment in the city, said Shen Qingsa, head of the administration.

Small businesses are those with either no employees or just a small number of employees. They usually require little investment and the scope of their business shouldn't need to be approved before owners register with the community committees.

Shen also said enterprises in the city are now exempt from paying annual inspection fees following an administrative reform last year that saw the registration procedures for enterprises streamlined. "The fee exemption has been approved by the city government," Shen said.

Small and medium-sized enterprises in their intial stages will mainly be admonished for soeme minor offenses, the official said. He didn't specify what minor offenses he was talking about. "These enterprises need more time to nurture themselves and grow," Shen said.

For illegal activities involving pyramid sales, manufacturing and selling poor-quality or fake goods, unlicensed agencies and false registrations, however, the government will not take a lenient attitude, Shen said. Commercial bribery in fields such as medical treatment, retail supply, building materials, second-hand automobiles, real estate, tourism and publishing will also be the focus of crackdown, he said.

Meanwhile, the market supervision administration will establish an e-commerce service platform this year. Through the platform, the public will be able to check the identities of online store owners, get information about online transactions and examine the credibility of online businesses.