Chinese firms make a splash at CES with innovation and vision

Source: Xinhua | 2019-01-10

ABOUT 1,200 Chinese tech companies, including industry giants like JD.com and Huawei as well as startups, have put their innovations in artificial intelligence and robotics on display at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The Chinese companies tried to expand their international market presence with their home-grown gadgets, although the number of exhibitors dropped about 20 percent as China and the United States are negotiating to ease their trade tensions.

The number of Chinese companies reached a record high in CES 2018 of more than 1,500. The shrinkage of Chinese participation amid a trade strain cast a shadow over the US tech sector.

Gary Shapiro, president of the US Consumer Technology Association, the show’s organizer, said tariffs on Chinese products are actually costing the US tech industry and American consumers about a billion dollars a month.

Shapiro said he was concerned about America’s export control proposal on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. He listed AI, along with 5G, self-driving tech and digital health, as trends to watch in CES 2019.

But the export controls will restrict the advancement of AI, especially in the US, he said.

Chinese-made products can still be found easily in almost every category like HD TV, robotics and smart retailing, occupying about 14 percent of the net exhibiting space. Many Chinese tech companies, especially the most innovative ones, are still looking to the long-term prospects in the American market.

A Chinese company specializing in voice recognition, iFLYTEK, is one of them. Rivaling Google and Amazon, the AI-driven company unveiled its fully upgraded smart translator, a winner of a CES 2019 Innovation Award.

Charlene Li, general manager of iFLYTEK North America, said that expansion in the American market may be an uphill journey in the short term, but “if we don’t plan ahead and do the spade work, we would have do it several years later, which is too late.”

The Alpha Mini robot, developed by UBITECH, and Mabot developed by Shenzhen Bell, both Chinese startups, also won annual Innovation Awards.

China’s second largest-online retailer JD.com made a debut at CES this year, showcasing an unmanned delivery vehicle for dense urban areas and a drone used in a delivery network for rural shipments.

Huawei released two new products at CES: a high-end laptop and a smart watch. Both will go on shelves in the United States this month but Huawei’s smartphones are almost locked out of the American market.

“If you are trading with countries you are more likely to have a good relationship with them,” said Shapiro, calling for a more “normalized” trade relationship between the two countries.

CES, the world’s largest trade show for new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry, finishes tomorrow, attracting about 4,500 exhibitors and 180,000 attendees.

World tech companies are seizing the opportunity to boost cooperation with Chinese firms, eyeing the Chinese market, technology and talent.

At a press conference before the opening of the CES, French automotive supplier Valeo announced a strategic cooperation deal with Meituan, one of China’s leading on-demand food delivery platforms, and the two sides will work together on autonomous delivery vehicles.

“The Chinese market is the biggest market in the world. So, we absolutely need to be present and to grow our presence in the market,” said Jacques Aschenbroich, chairman and CEO of Valeo.

Pointing out the “upmost importance” of the Chinese market in electric cars, Aschenbroich said that about 15 percent of the company’s global turnover in electric cars comes from China.

“There are some new players that bring a new concept of mobility into the market and Meituan is one of those new players,” Aschenbroich said, adding that they are “convinced” that the two can “take a leading position” in the market.