The China International Import Expo (CIIE) is a trade fair ，which is the world’s first import-themed national-level expo，held in autumn annually since 2018 in Shanghai, China. The first China International Import Expo lasted for a week and successfully closed on November 10th. Like most of other various fairs, “Technology elements” are the highlights of the China International Import Expo with no exception.
There are thousands of companies from 58 countries bring creative productions with cutting-edge technologies like 5G, autonomous driving, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and VR/AR which related to smart cities, smart homes, smart travel, smart manufacturing, etc. For example, General Electric’s aero engine and the AW189 helicopter of Leonardo AG of Italy became the star of the exhibition. With the theme “AI is at your fingertips”, Google attracted a large audience with Google Translate, AI Calling Zodiac, VR Glasses and AR Home. Facebook also gather a huge amount of audience by its VR/AR equipment and artificial intelligence. Toyota Motor demonstrated its passenger’s physical examination function for its new intelligent network cars, which also receive a lot of attention.
Besides all those products which really close to our life, some super high-tech machine also be displayed in intelligent equipment show area inside CIIE. Eight of the world’s top 10 machine tool companies will take part in the first Expo. At least 10 companies released their latest products or technologies. Well-known companies in their own industry, like Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp, Japanese manufacturing company that the first to sign up for this year’s CIIE, showed its most advanced small and medium-sized robots during the Expo. Waldrich Coburg from Germany showcased the largest piece of exhibition. Its 200-ton planer type milling machine, with a price tag of 2.6 million euros (£2.34 million), can process all kinds of sophisticated parts used in motor vehicles and machines.
No matter how this event has any political meaning behind, the exhibition itself is a display of emerging technology fever. It not only shows that the cutting-edge technology market has huge application scenarios, but also confirms that people nowadays have high acceptance and strong interest on high-tech products, which is a good trend be favored by many technology companies and traditional companies that are trying to upgrade digitally. I wish the Expo could help technology can grow better globally and make people life better.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world/china-watch/technology/first-china-international-import-expo-shanghai/
https://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2018-11-10/doc-ihnstwwp9385183.shtml?agt=61
I think that this convention is a great way to create a more affluent environment for technology. A lot of the progression of technology is dependent on the sharing of ideas and the creation of new ideas based on the innovations of others. This cross national conference allows for ideas to flow from one country to another, and allows other countries to see what products different countries have developed. Often times, different countries may be developing the same product and might not even be aware of it; creating and engaging in such an environment can allow for collaboration for these two similar ideas and as a team observe the strengths and weaknesses for each approach for the same idea.
This concept relates what we learned in class about ideas being open source. By showcasing concepts and products, they are allowing other innovators to be exposed to different ideas and perspectives. The previous comment mentioned intellectual property theft, however this is a risk that is run by anything that is open sourced. If an idea can be profitable, it will definitely be exploited. In my opinion, however, the benefits derived from a collaborative environment outweighs the risk of intellectual property theft. The following article outlines how intellectual property theft from China might not be as big of a problem as it seems:
https://www.thenational.ae/business/technology/despite-us-claims-china-s-not-good-at-intellectual-property-theft-1.788508
tzx,
Good read above, but I believe the most interesting direction to take this conversation would be in the direction of intellectual property theft by China and their government controlled national companies. This past October, Bloomberg reported how a Chinese manufacturing channel had planted small microchips in the hardware of of special servers that condensed media files and allowed for a number of applications, which was then sold to many large and diverse companies within the United States. This is very concerning, in that the microchip was designed for spyware and ended up in places the Chinese government should never be able to go. You can read more here https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies .