2026 APEC SME ministerial meeting to focus on innovation, cooperation

The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Ministerial Meeting will be held on September 4 in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Monday.

The meeting, under the theme "innovation-driven development for win-win cooperation," will bring together SME officials from APEC economies, representatives of the APEC Secretariat and other guests.

The meeting will focus on technological innovation, digital empowerment and inclusive development, with a joint ministerial statement and other outcome documents expected, according to Liang Zhifeng, director of the SME bureau under the MIIT.

As the host, China hopes that through in-depth exchanges, all economies will reach forward-looking and practical consensus, promote mutual learning of policies and the translation of outcomes, and jointly enhance the innovation capacity, digitalization level and sustainable development capabilities of SMEs in the Asia-Pacific region, said Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Ke Jixin.

Wang Sheng, vice governor of Guangdong, said that all preparations for the meeting are essentially complete, and all APEC member economies had confirmed their participation.

More than 2,100 companies from home and abroad have registered for the accompanying exhibitions, with over 3,900 booths planned.

China will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen in south China in November this year, which will mark the country's third hosting of the event following Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014.

This year marks the APEC "China Year," with the theme of "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together." Approximately 300 APEC-related meetings and events will take place in multiple Chinese cities throughout the year.