From November 9 to 11, 2023, the 12th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Small and Medium Enterprises Technology Exchange and Exhibition, referred to as the APEC Technology Exhibition, was held in Qingdao City, Shandong Province. Xu Xiaolan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, attended the opening ceremony and the main forum and delivered a speech. Anna Maria Chocvanca De Villanueva, Minister of Production of Peru, Dedan Mastuki, Minister of SMEs and Cooperatives of Indonesia, Saraswati Kanasamsi, Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development of Malaysia, and Woo Kiyong, Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups of South Korea, delivered speeches and keynote addresses via video link.
Xu Xiaolan stated that the Chinese government is committed to promoting the healthy and sustainable development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and continuing to advance their high-level openness and cooperation. In 2022, President Xi Jinping personally advocated the inclusion of China’s initiative to promote specialized and innovative development of SMEs in the APEC Leaders’ Declaration. China will firmly advance regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific and jointly explore new opportunities for MSME development. Leveraging the APEC mechanism, the aim is to jointly implement the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040, focusing on the priority areas for MSMEs in 2023, stimulating their employment absorption capacity, and promoting inclusive development in the Asia-Pacific region. Efforts will be made to support the specialized and innovative development of enterprises, promote concept, technology, organizational management, and model innovation among MSMEs, strengthen the integrated development of large, medium, and small enterprises, enhance supply-demand connections across the industrial chain, and jointly promote the high-quality development of MSMEs. The focus will also be on digital and green transformation, building a service system for digital and green transformation, encouraging the development of “small, fast, light, and accurate” digital products and solutions, promoting the application of green, energy-saving, and low-carbon technologies, increasing green energy supply, guiding MSMEs to accelerate their transformation, and contributing to the sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific region. Practical cooperation among Asia-Pacific MSMEs will be encouraged, supporting them in expanding the breadth and depth of cooperation in trade, investment, scientific and technological innovation, and technology talent. The role of cross-border matchmaking service platforms in Sino-foreign SME cooperation zones will be leveraged to provide exchange, matchmaking, and support services for the international development of MSMEs.
This APEC Technology Exhibition, themed “Green Development, Digital Empowerment, Integrated Innovation, and Collaborative Win-Win,” featured one exhibition, an opening ceremony and main forum, five sub-forums, three industrial chain forums, and several supporting matchmaking activities. Officials from SME authorities, experts, scholars, and over 1600 companies from 17 APEC economies and 19 countries along the “Belt and Road” participated in the exhibition and meetings.
During the event, Xu Xiaolan met with domestic and foreign guests attending the APEC Technology Exhibition and visited Qingdao National High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Qingdao SME Public Service Center, and the Shandong Branch of the China Industrial Internet Research Institute. Relevant heads of the SME Bureau, International Cooperation Department, SME Development Promotion Center, and Torch Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology accompanied these activities.
Source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (miit.gov.cn)
