China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued the Artificial Intelligence SME Entrepreneurship Support Plan (2026-2028), setting a three-year framework to expand the country's pipeline of artificial intelligence startups. The plan covers industry applications, data services and intelligent computing power, and aims to newly cultivate more than 10,000 technology-based and innovative SMEs, more than 2,000 specialized and sophisticated "little giant" enterprises, and a number of gazelle and unicorn companies. It also calls for 10 high-standard technology enterprise incubators, 10 national SME public service demonstration platforms or bases, and 10 new national-level SME characteristic industrial clusters focused on artificial intelligence. The sector-specific initiative complements China's broader 15th Five-Year Plan for Promoting SME Development, which sets targets through 2030 for SME revenue, research and development, digital maturity, financing and industrial clusters.