Ninth edition of World IoT Convention kicks off in Beijing

The ninth edition of the World Internet of Things Convention (WIOTC) kicked off in Beijing on Sunday, focusing on the future of IoT-led digital economic development and the application of Internet of things (IoT) in China.

Themed "Towards a New Future for Digital Economy: An Intelligently Interconnected New World", the annual convention attracts representatives from governments, international organizations and businesses to discuss digital economy trends in the intelligently interconnected world and development path of China's IoT-led digital economy market.

Connecting physical and virtual entities through information and communication technologies, the IoT is emerging as the next frontier in global network infrastructure. Its applications span a wide range of sectors, generating concepts such as smart homes and smart factories.

Now the global IoT-led digital economy is seeing robust growth as it drives socio-economic reform and an industrial revolution across the world, according to the WIOTC Executive Committee Chairman He Xuming.

"Driven by the IoT, the world's intelligently interconnected digital economy is growing at a rapid speed of 20 percent each year. Major and developing countries in the world are racing to catch up with the trend. China has taken the lead in IoT infrastructure and innovative applications.  China's traditional digital economic output is expected to increase by more than 20 percent to over 70 trillion yuan (around 9.83 trillion U.S. dollars) this year," said He.

Millions of Chinese enterprises specializing in IoT technology and the digital economy are qualified to develop the Intelligently Interconnected Digital Economy, the World IoT Research Institute said.

Yu Hao, vice president of Lenovo Holdings Co., said that China offers a conducive environment for enterprises to develop IoT, however, these enterprises should value creativity and originality to stand out when expanding the application scenarios of IoT.

"IoT is not an abstract concept, and it is important to find its application scenario in real life. One term that has emerged a lot recently is 'involution,' and the core of it is lacking differentiation. If we could integrate IoT with our own products rather than blindly replicate what others do, we can avoid this situation," said Yu.

Ninth edition of World IoT Convention kicks off in Beijing

A delegation of 40 students and teachers from seven Chinese mainland universities on Thursday wrapped up their nine-day visit to Taiwan. They set off for Taiwan on Nov. 27 and visited universities, historical sites, scenic spots, as well as sports, sci-tech and cultural venues on the island, widely engaging with locals throughout the tour.

The delegation made the tour at the invitation of the Taiwan-based Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation.

"The young people from both sides of the Strait share the same root, and we are having a harmonious communication this time. We also welcome young people from Taiwan to visit the mainland for exchange," Cao Yibo, a student from Peking University, told reporters during the tour.

The delegation included table tennis Olympic champion Ma Long who studies at Beijing Sport University, and air rifle Olympic champion Yang Qian of Tsinghua University.

"In the future, I would like to visit Taiwan again. I did not expect that so many compatriots in Taiwan would come to welcome and us and pay so much attention to our exchange tour," Ma said.

Hsiao Hsu-tsen, executive director of the Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation, saw off the delegation at the airport on Thursday, and said the mainland students and teachers had received Taiwan residents' heartfelt welcome wherever they went.

"The farewell dinner party was held yesterday evening, when almost all students from the mainland shared their feelings. What moved me so much is that every one of them thanked people here, because the latter sincerely and warmly welcomed them wherever they went during the nine-day tour. They told me that when they go back, they will tell their relatives and friends that people in Taiwan are kind, hospitable and warm. I believe that is the most important purpose of the exchange across the Strait," he said.

Calling youth exchanges a foundation of cross-Strait relations in the future, Hsiao said the foundation will carry on and continue to promote such exchanges across the Strait.

This is the second delegation of mainland teachers and students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, following the visit by a first delegation in July last year.

Delegation of mainland university students, teachers wraps up Taiwan visit