Tech titans team up at global trade expo

The 3rd Global Digital Trade Expo is set to begin on September 25 in Hangzhou. The five-day expo, which was the first national digital trade fair backed by the central government, is a forum for sharing new digital technologies and products, as well as building an open platform of digital trade.

This year's event is co-sponsored by the Zhejiang provincial government and the Ministry of Commerce, and co-hosted by the Hangzhou city government, the Zhejiang Commerce Bureau, and the Trade Development Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce.

"During the expo, Hangzhou aims to establish an international platform, enhance digital experiences and offer customized services," said Hangzhou Mayor Yao Gaoyuan.

"In the latest iteration of digital scenarios, the digital human and AI applications deployed during the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games will be upgraded for presentation at the expo. The Digital Trade Online system will offer a seamless online and offline real-time information exchange to enhance the trade experience."

The event will be held at the Hangzhou Grand Convention and Exhibition Center in Xiaoshan District. The venue boasts 150,000 square meters of exhibition space, which includes a comprehensive hall and eight feature halls.

The comprehensive hall will focus on the guest countries of Thailand and Kazakhstan, international organizations, and Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces. It plans to showcase the leading companies in the digital trade realm, new trends and research and development results. Industrial leaders including Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, Ant Group and Google will display their new products.

The eight feature halls will be themed on the data and finance, Silk Road e-commerce, AI, smart city, digital entertainment, smart transport, consumer electronics and smart medical industry, showcasing cutting-edge exploration, innovation and pioneering digital technologies.

The Silk Road E-commerce Hall will be divided into three distinct sections: platforms, services and brands. Some of the world's top e-commerce platforms and companies will offer one-stop cross-border digital trade services, including Coupang, KiKUU, Xiaohongshu and Dewu.

In the Data and Finance Hall, visitors can use virtual reality equipment to experience virtual financial trade, venture capital, evaluation of risks and trade.

In the AI Hall, vendors will show 60 robots for different scenarios, such as intelligent manufacturing, tourism, logistics, life services and urban management.

The Smart Transport Hall, in collaboration with Barcelona's Smart City Expo World Congress, will showcase cutting-edge solutions for urban transportation, logistics, energy and environmental sustainability, reflecting the global push toward smart city innovations.

Domestic new energy companies, including Nio, Xpeng, Zeekr, Li and Hongqi, will show their new vehicles and autopilot technologies. Meanwhile, visitors can view the new drones developed by Chinese manufacturers.

In the future, digital technologies will accelerate the development of healthcare services. In the Medical Industry Hall, products brimming with forefront technologies will show how digitalized equipment analyzes big data to enhance life quality.

"Exhibitors from 32 countries and regions will display their innovative products in the expo," said Lu Shan, vice governor of Zhejiang Province. "The expo will focus on AI robots and low-altitude economy, and expand opportunities for mutual cooperation."

Other highlights of the expo include the Silk Road E-commerce Day, Digital Trade Africa Day, Low-altitude Economy New Technology and Industrial Development Matchmaking Conference, and the 2024 Hangzhou International Digital Music Festival.

In 2022, the inaugural expo was attended by some 800 domestic and international businesses. During the expo, 315 products from 286 firms made their debut, and 89 unicorn projects were agreed for a total investment of 150 billion yuan (US$21.19 billion).

Last year, total investment reached 155.8 billion yuan during the expo, when 1,018 companies from 25 countries and regions participated offline and 367 companies attended online, drawing over 15,000 buyers from home and abroad.

For years, Hangzhou has been an attractive area with many digital companies and a favorable business environment. Last year, the added value of the core digital industry was 567.5 billion yuan, accounting for 28.3 percent of the city's gross domestic product and representing a year-on-year growth of 8.5 percent.