Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Gree Electric Appliances' latest forays into improving air conditioners so that they don't smoke or corrode and are flexible enough to be used in kitchens without disturbing other devices have recently drawn a great deal of attention.

The world's leading air conditioner manufacturer, headquartered in Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai, made the 2017 Guangdong 21st Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo its small products show. The exposition was held in Dongguan, Guangdong Province from Sept 21 to 24.

According to a company manager, it has been a long-standing concern that traditional air conditioners suffer from component failures and pipe blockages due to heavy smoke to the extent that they cannot be relied upon for kitchen venting or cooling.

The latest Gree products of all types use a special advanced design integrating a number of core technologies and have proved to have strong market appeal, according to statistics.

Products displayed at the show, the most successful across 10 sectors, include intelligent automatic guided vehicles (AGV) and injection manipulators; they certainly gave visitors an insight into the company’s comprehensive product range.

With annual sales of 108.3 billion yuan ($16.6 billion), Gree is the leading Chinese appliance manufacturer and was grouped among the top 500 enterprises in China in 2017 on Sept 10.

Since 2016, the company has speeded up industrial transformation in intelligent equipment, smart homes, and molds while consolidating its market share in air conditioning.

According to the organizer, more than 1,680 enterprises from home and abroad took part in the expo. Just over 67 percent of them, or 1,134, hailed from one of 56 foreign countries and regions; the balance was made up by 538 domestic exhibitors.

A 21-enterprise Zhuhai delegation at the 2017 Guangdong 21st Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo, held from Sept 21 to 24

Foreign and Chinese visitors show great interest in Guangdong high-tech products. [Photos courtesy Zhuhai Daily]