An annual technology extravaganza kicks off on Wednesday in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, a city known as the Chinese Silicon Valley.

The China Hi-Tech Fair, founded in 1999, is acclaimed as a crucial guide for understanding the latest trends in the high-tech industry and addressing burgeoning market requirements.

Covering a record exhibition area of 500,000 square meters and hosting a lineup of industry summits, this year's CHTF has attracted delegations from more than 100 countries and regions spanning all five continents.

Notably, nine countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, such as Hungary, Kenya, Russia and Serbia, have sent ministerial-level officials to lead their delegations and establish national pavilions that present the latest technologies and products.

Chinese companies are to showcase their growing technological research capabilities at the fair, which has evolved into a global platform for both international and domestic high-tech players to foster bilateral exchanges and collaborations.

According to the organizing committee of the fair, Chinese industrial leaders, including telecommunication giants Huawei Technologies and ZTE, leading commercial drone developer DJI, electric vehicle maker BYD and artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics company UBTech Robotics, are set to reveal their new cutting-edge technologies, achievements and innovative products at the fair.

Furthermore, the organizing committee has extended invitations to a range of "specialized, sophisticated and innovative" small and medium-sized enterprises; hidden champion enterprises; Fortune Global 500 companies; key central enterprises and "unicorn" enterprises in China to showcase their flagship products and state-of-the-art technologies.

This is to offer visitors a firsthand experience of new products and technologies that have yet to be launched in the market.

To assist transactions, the fair has attracted the participation of more than 50 influential investment and financing institutions, venture capital firms and technology transfer service organizations. These entities are to engage in various activities such as project pairing negotiations, project roadshows and financing training sessions.

In addition, some official organizations, including the technology achievement and intellectual property trading center of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange; the International Trading Center for Electronic Components and Integrated Circuits; and the Shenzhen Data Trading Exchange are to exhibit and offer their services at the fair.

The organizing committee said that they have arranged free shuttle buses to improve transportation between the two venues of the CHTF. One venue is located in the central Futian district, while the other is in Bao'an district near the airport.

High-level forums

To enhance diversity at the event, the CHTF has curated a series of forums and conferences, boosting the value and effectiveness of participation.

The X-Lake Forum, launched in 2021 for the first time as the main forum of the CHTF, will be held from Wednesday to Sunday, taking frontiers, transformations and connections as keywords.

The forum, attracting experts, scholars, representatives from enterprises and innovative talents from home and abroad, also serves the integrated development of the X-Lake Sciensity, an area in Nanshan district of Shenzhen with rich scientific and educational resources, concentrated high-end talents, strong innovation capabilities and a high level of industrial development.

It is adopting a format combining one opening ceremony and a plenary session, 12 parallel forums and a number of accompanying activities.

The forums will highlight aspects such as cutting-edge leadership, innovative transformations, teamwork between central and local authorities, and resonating within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

They will revolve around topics such as building a technology powerhouse, enterprises' technological innovation, young leaders in science and technology, science and technology finance, advancements in frontier technologies, and the development of international science and technology innovation parks.

Another important event of CHTF is the 2023 Shenzhen Enterprise Innovation Development Conference, which will be hosted in Guangming district on Friday. The district is home to the Guangming Science City, a burgeoning global hub for technological innovation, which is under construction.

The conference aims to use the abundant application scenarios, industrial resources and innovative policy advantages of the Bay Area and serve as a platform for exchanges and collaboration on technological innovation among diverse enterprises. It seeks to foster the seamless integration of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain and talent chain, promoting a comprehensive and cooperative development.

Yi Yang contributed to this story.

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