Cultural industry makes debut at high-tech expo

Innovations and developments showcased at capital's event

The China Beijing International High-Tech Expo kicked off on May 13. The six-day event presents the latest innovations and developments in the marine and cultural technological industries as well as the financing sector for the high-tech industry.

The expo was expected to feature intelligent products for everyday life from China's silicon valley - Zhongguancun Science Park.

The high-tech expo, which started in 1998, has welcomed 906 delegations from more than 100 countries and regions over the years. A total of 28,000 companies and institutions have shown their products and more than 4,900 deals worth 672.9 billion yuan ($107.7 billion) have been made in the expo's history.

The expo's opening ceremony was held on Tuesday in the National Political Consultative Conference assembly hall. From May 14 to 18, a series of exhibitions, trade meetings and seminars will be held in the Chinese International Exhibition Center.

The theme of this year's event is innovation and development. As major players in the industry, State-owned enterprises including China Electronics Corporation and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation attended the expo with their latest techniques and products.

Highlights

The expo committee has attached a lot of importance to the marine technology exhibition this year. Marine economy is an emerging sector in China.

The exhibition, hosted by the State Oceanic Administration, features the country's advanced marine techniques - deep ocean oil and gas development, ocean biotechnology, ocean exploration, seawater desalinization and shipbuilding.

More than 200 companies and institutions from 11 countries and regions, as well as coastal provinces and cities, took part in the marine exhibition.

An international marine technology forum during the exhibition hopes to attract investment and trigger scientific exchanges.

For the first time the high-tech expo will cover the cultural industry. New products and services of print and broadcast media, social network media, tourism and design are on display.

More than 30 enterprises based in Beijing attended the exhibition. These enterprises use technology to create new cultural products or to upgrade their production portfolios. The expo offers a platform for them to share their achievements and learn from each other.

Trade meetings for the financing industry will also be held to try and come up with new ways to help the high-tech industry. During the meetings, experts will analyze financial trends, policies and business opportunities specifically for technology companies. They will also advise companies on how to find and expand investments.

A China financial forum will cover issues including how to streamline financial structure and the real economy, restructuring of commercial banks, online financing and future trends in the international financial sector.

The expo will also bring scientific parks from across the country together for more deals and new projects.

Projects from Jiangsu, Guizhou, Qingdao, Guangdong, Fujian, Shanxi provinces and Tianjin city will be presented during the expo.

For the sixth time, a Hunan-Beijing investment meeting will be held to promote the scientific parks and industries of the central province.

The development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economies is one of the expo's highlights. Hebei province will take on industrial restructuring while Beijing will take up its new position as the hub of scientific innovation.

The capital's Zhongguancun Science Park has attended the expo for 16 years in a row. This year, 110 companies from the scientific park will showcase their products, some of which are the best in the world.

With a theme of Intelligent Beijing, the Zhongguancun exhibition features products for travel, work, study, family, entertainment, environment and transport.

The expo committee has adopted innovative ways to promote and present the expo, including an app and social network promotions.

Visitors can see up-to-date expo information, including the number of participants and the most popular products, on a big screen.

A special exhibition will showcase achievements of Chinese people who went abroad in the 1970s, when the country had the opening up reform. Many have now returned to seek business opportunities.

The exhibition also displays technique achievements of 10 academics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.

fuchao@chinadaily.com.cn