GUANGZHOU, Sept. 3 -- The 32nd APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting was held in Guangzhou on Sept. 4. As key side events, five thematic forums on digital and intelligent empowerment, financial support, capacity and resilience development, cross-border investment, and innovation empowerment were held from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1, building a high-level platform for policy exchange and practical cooperation among APEC economies.
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are the most vibrant part of the Asia-Pacific economy. They account for more than 97 percent of all businesses in the region and are central to innovation, employment and livelihoods.
As a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation unfolds, with artificial intelligence spreading quickly and global supply chains adjusting deeply, SMEs in the region face challenges in upgrading, accessing resources and expanding markets, but also unprecedented opportunities.
In Guangdong, SMEs have moved from isolated success stories to a new normal supported by millions of market entities. By the end of June 2026, Guangdong had more than 18 million registered business entities, including over 9 million companies and more than 8 million SMEs.
In Guangzhou, the provincial capital, SMEs account for more than 99 percent of market entities, with the total number of market entities ranking second in China.
The five forums reflected China's systematic exploration of SME development. The digital empowerment forum noted that China has supported more than 40,000 quality SMEs in digital transformation through pilots in 101 cities, better public services and inclusive computing power, exploring innovations such as computing power supermarkets and computing power banks.
The cross-border investment forum focused on the five priority areas of the APEC SME Working Group Strategic Plan 2025-2028, upholding the principle of investing early, small and in innovation, and focusing on technological innovation, digital transformation, park empowerment and industrial cluster development.
At the financial empowerment seminar, participants called for continued policy communication among economies, better integration of industrial, capital and park resources, innovative cross-border financial services and a stronger financing mechanism for SMEs.
The capacity building and resilience seminar made three recommendations: fully using the APEC platform for policy mutual learning and practice sharing on SME resilience; providing more diversified financing channels for technological upgrading of innovative SMEs; and leveraging lead firms to bring smaller suppliers into modern industrial chains.
For international companies and buyers, the discussions underlined how China's SME ecosystem -- dense supply chains, digital tools and policy support -- underpins the country's manufacturing responsiveness.
