The legs are tired, but the mind is happy, "an investment manager from an asset management institution told First Financial reporters after visiting the automotive, technology equipment, and innovation incubation zone of the 7th CIIE.
He, who has participated in the CIIE for two consecutive years, said that at the CIIE, he can not only learn about cutting-edge technology trends and the progress of overseas technology companies' projects, but also witness the business layout of domestic technology enterprises in the global market. The innovation incubation zone and other technology exhibition areas also provide rich opportunities for investors to directly contact a large number of enterprises and obtain first-hand information.
Since its first edition, the CIIE has continued to create a global hub for new product launches, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative services. In the first six editions, nearly 2500 representative new products, technologies, and services have been showcased, with a cumulative intended transaction volume exceeding 420 billion US dollars. This year, the CIIE has set up a new materials zone for the first time, upgraded and created an innovation incubation zone, with a stronger technological flavor. More than 400 new technologies and products have filled the audience's expectations.
New demands arise from new problems
Shi An, President of Rockwell Automation (China) Co., Ltd., told First Financial reporters that there is a problem of supply and demand imbalance and serious product homogenization caused by weak global demand in the current industry pattern, which means that the traditional automation and digitalization routes aimed at improving productivity and efficiency in the past may fail.
Because what we lack is neither productivity nor efficiency, but how to drive new supply through demand. "Shi An gave an example that for black light factories and lighthouse factories, obtaining orders is more important than" rolling "technology.
How to explore new requirements and match them with products, services, and solutions? Shi An believes that focusing on solving industrial and social livelihood issues may be a good breakthrough.
He explained that in the past, industrial control mainly alternated between application scenarios in different industries, but specialization in a specific industry often meant sacrificing replicability. The advantage of focusing on social and livelihood issues is that the application scenarios are broad enough. "As long as there are core intellectual property rights and invention patents, the replicability is strong." Taking static transportation in urban renewal (vehicles stopping briefly or for a long time during travel) as an example, if the efficiency of charging and swapping on highways can be improved by 5-10 times through science and technology innovation, it will form a win-win situation.
When it comes to how technology can empower enterprises, he said that many people think of being more frugal and cheaper. "This is difficult to sustain." If the business model and pattern of the industry are not changed, and the competition threshold is not raised, saving traffic will be difficult to transform into a qualitative change in open source. To expand new quality productivity and bridge the gap between science and technology innovation and GDP, it is necessary to complete the transformation process from new manufacturing to new services, and then to new business formats.
New demands stem from new problems, "said Shi An." The bigger the problem, the greater the business opportunity
Low altitude flight shifts towards low altitude economy
At the innovation incubation zone of this year's CIIE, the unmanned manned aircraft EH216-S independently developed by Yihang Intelligence made its debut and attracted a lot of attention.
Yihang Intelligent Vice President He Tianxing introduced to First Financial reporters that the EH216-S unmanned manned aircraft exhibited this time is the world's first and only manned electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL) that has obtained three major "passes": model qualification certificate, production license, and standard airworthiness certificate. Currently, it has completed more than 50000 safe flights in 18 countries including China, the United States, the Netherlands, and Austria. It is expected to enter the commercial operation stage of manned passenger transportation after obtaining the operating license (OC) by the end of this year or early next year.
According to data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the scale of China's low altitude economy has exceeded 500 billion yuan in 2023, is expected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan by 2025, and is even more likely to reach 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.
He Tianxing stated that the low altitude economy is currently in the early stages of development from its inception. The collective appearance of multiple eVTOL companies and products at this CIIE allows the government, partners, and consumers to intuitively see the current development achievements, the formed industrial scale, and the future development direction.
The low altitude economy also requires a process of popularizing science, "He Tianxing said." In the past, people thought that the development of the low altitude economy might take ten, eight, or even decades. Now, through the CIIE, we can see that it can be achieved in the next two, three, or even next year
When it comes to future development plans, He Tianxing said that from low altitude flight to low altitude economy, it is expected to face many tests and challenges, such as inadequate regulatory regulations and policies, insufficient talent, and inadequate infrastructure.
Only by gradually solving these problems can low altitude flight truly enter the low altitude economy, "he said. Yihang Intelligence is already preparing for the construction of a safety operation guarantee system and talent cultivation before commercialization and scale.
Borrowing into the Expo to reach end consumers
At the CIIE site, the First Financial Journalist saw an open style headphone that attracted a lot of attention from visitors.
Previously, the NWM brand had successfully entered the Japanese and North American markets and received positive market feedback. With the important opportunity of this year's CIIE, we hope to introduce the NWM brand and its innovative acoustic products to the vast number of users in the Chinese market, "said Xu Jingxian, General Manager of NTT Communication Systems (China) Ear Unit.
This year is the first time NTT Sonority from Japan has participated in the CIIE. In fact, NTT Group has a long history with the Chinese market. It entered the Chinese market more than 20 years ago and has been cooperating with several major telecommunications operators for a long time Xu Jingxian told First Financial reporters, "Due to its deep involvement in the telecommunications industry, NTT Group is not familiar to many Chinese consumers
At its debut at the CIIE, NTT Sonority, a subsidiary of NTT Group in the field of sound, showcased its acoustic brand NWM to the Chinese market for the first time.
It is reported that this earphone gathers many innovative technologies and is hailed as a "disruptive product" among earphone enthusiasts. Unlike in ear headphones on the market, this earphone uses technology that can confine sound within a few centimeters around the ear, making it less likely to leak to the outside. At the same time, the overall weight of the earphone is only 185 grams.
Xu Jingxian stated that the experience at the exhibition site met the company's previous expectations, as it allowed them to interact with end consumers and listen to their feedback on the product. We look forward to the significant development of the NWM brand in the Chinese market through this CIIE, bringing consumers a new auditory experience and establishing good cooperative relationships with local partners
For the Chinese market, Xu Jingxian said that compared to the Japanese domestic market, the Chinese market has a huge volume, and Chinese consumers have a high acceptance of new brands. The Chinese market updates and iterates very quickly in the field of consumer electronics products, so it is not a small challenge for foreign-funded enterprises. "While surpassing competitors, we hope to launch more products and services that meet the needs of Chinese consumers