The 32nd APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting opened in Guangzhou, Guangdong, on September 4, 2026, chaired by MIIT minister Li Lecheng under the theme 'Innovation Drives Progress, Partnership Delivers Prosperity.' Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing attended and addressed the opening.
Discussions centered on three topics: science and technology innovation to help SMEs transform; digital and intelligent empowerment to raise SME digital literacy and help them ride the digital and AI wave into global value chains; and inclusive development so more SMEs seize financing, technology and market opportunities. Ministers stressed that AI can broaden participation in the formal economy and help SMEs respond faster to supply-chain shocks.
China proposed establishing an Asia-Pacific AI Empowerment Center for SME Development in Guangzhou and building an Asia-Pacific SME Cooperation Zone in Shenzhen. The meeting issued the Chair's Statement and the Guangzhou Initiative on SME Innovation and Resilience, contributing China's experience and innovations.
In closing remarks, Li Lecheng urged turning the day's discussions into practical action, calling for small, fast, light and precise digital products and AI applications to accelerate AI empowerment of SMEs. Experts noted AI is a 'general-purpose technology' that, for SMEs, is 'both a challenge and an opportunity' - letting small firms rent previously unaffordable 'brainpower' and, unburdened by legacy systems, rebuild as 'small organization, big capability.'
Image: Efficiency of AI-related computer chips. Source: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
