China's banking sector issued more loans to private and small businesses in 2019 to support their development, according to a report from the China Banking Association.

Outstanding loans to small- and micro-sized enterprises reached 36.9 trillion yuan (about 5.27 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of last year, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier.

Outstanding agriculture-related loans hit 35.19 trillion yuan at the end of 2019, up 7.7 percent from end of 2018.

Banks have been encouraged to lend more to private and small companies as they contribute to the majority of job creation and economic growth in the country.

The report said that at the end of February, lenders across the country had issued over 1.07 trillion yuan of credit to support the fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak. They also donated 2.25 billion yuan and over 10 million pieces of medical supplies, household items and food.