BEIJING, July 27  -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged government organs to reduce administrative procedures for small firms, stressing supervision should not be a hurdle to small businesses.

Li said the government should give a hand to small firms and supervision should not be like "hurdles in a race that lie in the way one after another." He made the comments during a symposium with owners of small and micro-sized enterprises, according to a statement released Sunday on the website of the Chinese central government.

Supervisors should relax unnecessary controls, fulfill their regulatory duties and support companies in need, Li said.

The government should also pay more attention to fiscal support and financial services to newly registered small firms, he added.

China has rolled out an array of favorable measures for small firms to help them weather the economic slowdown, including tax breaks, reduced administrative fees and relaxed market access. Policy makers have also hoped that small firms will invigorate China's ongoing reform efforts.

Some 1.27 million firms were registered in the March-June period, up by 66.85 percent from a year ago, after a new business registration system with lower thresholds took effect on March 1.