Fair a showcase for high-tech from around world

Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province is capturing the attention of the global sci-tech community as it is hosting the 26th China Hi-Tech Fair running from Thursday to Saturday.

This grand event focuses on showcasing cutting-edge technologies from around the world.

The three-day gathering has attracted over 5,000 renowned enterprises and international organizations from more than 100 countries and regions. Among them are over 180 Fortune Global 500 companies and State-owned enterprises, more than 1,000 listed companies, and 2,000-plus gazelle and unicorn firms.

This year's fair emphasizes six innovations: a new model, new function, new highlights, new brands, new empowerment, and new patterns. For instance, the new model signifies a shift from government-led to market-driven organization, with government departments providing guidance and coordination, while market-based institutions leverage their experience to drive the attraction of exhibitions and other activities.

The new function aims to enhance transactions by promoting more high-tech products that are technologically advanced, easy to trade, and have broad prospects.

An international buyer invitation plan is being implemented, encouraging greater participation from countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

This year's event seeks to enhance the long-term intellectual property influence of its brand through innovative promotion methods and formats, positioning the fair as a global launch site for new products and cutting-edge technologies, as well as the initial release venue for new policies.

A professional digital trading platform is being introduced to facilitate the digital transformation of the fair. By constructing a data trading platform, the fair will manage the entire life cycle of its data, including exhibitors, visitors, buyers, and transactions. Utilizing large data models for analysis, it will track industry trends and market dynamics, releasing authoritative industry reports in a timely manner.

With the theme "Technology Leads Development, Industry Integrates Fusion", the 26th session highlights significant upcoming changes in areas such as national critical equipment, electronic information, artificial intelligence, green energy, and life sciences, featuring concentrated displays of new products and technologies in these fields.

It has exhibition areas for 17 major industries and 22 specialized categories, covering international technologies, major national equipment, electronic information and big data, innovation and entrepreneurship, financial services, smart agriculture and the digital countryside, future technology and smart cities, and industry-education integration.

These areas are expected to comprehensively showcase major achievements of China's new quality productive forces across various segments.

More than 4,300 new technologies, products, and achievements will be unveiled during the fair, alongside over 160 supporting activities to provide extensive opportunities for exchange and cooperation for exhibitors and visitors.

These activities include the release of national major achievements, global buyers' matchmaking conferences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences academicians' conference, the world entrepreneurs' annual conference, and international investment and financing matchmaking events.

Shenzhen's Baoan district, where the fair is located, has organized over 120 companies to attend. It has set up a 270-square-meter exhibition area in Hall 15 and planned three supporting activities.

The district's exhibition area, themed around creating an AI application and innovation cluster in Baoan, showcases the AI industry chain from foundational science to technology and application.

It highlights AI applications in Baoan, featuring products and innovation platforms from over 20 local companies, covering basic computing power and technical services.

One of the district's supporting activities is the AI applications and innovative achievements release conference held on Friday.

This event, mainly hosted by the management committee of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone and the Baoan district government, will promote the industry environment, policy framework, and service systems for AI development in the Qianhai cooperation zone and the district.

The Qianhai cooperation zone has developed a series of AI innovation and application demonstration scenarios in fields such as finance, manufacturing, logistics, and cultural creation.

Meanwhile, Baoan, with its rich industry chain and advanced manufacturing capabilities, has also become an innovation cluster for AI industrial applications and an accelerator for industrialization in the sector.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn

An autonomous aerial vehicle developed by EHang is displayed at the China Hi-Tech Fair held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in 2023. MAO SIQIAN/XINHUA