25th China Int'l Industry Fair highlights tech-driven manufacturing

The 25th China International Industry Fair (CIIF) opened in Shanghai on Tuesday, with 3,000 exhibitors from 28 countries and regions in attendance, showcasing their latest innovations and meeting potential partners.

Nearly 300 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders are attending the five-day event.

This year's CIIF features three special exhibition zones and nine themed exhibitions, covering the latest products and technologies across the entire industrial chain, from computer numerical control machine tools and industrial automation to new energy and robotics systems.

Thousands of new products, technologies, and services will debut at the event, making it the largest edition in the fair's history.

"We have launched a full series of new, locally-developed motion control products, which are making their domestic debut. Open automation is a crucial foundation for empowering industry with artificial intelligence (AI) in the future, so we have also made many new advancements in open automation," said Yin Zheng, executive vice president of Schneider Electric's China and East Asia Operations.

The robotics section of the fair was a particular draw for participants interested in how AI is reshaping traditional industries.

"The development of industrial robots actually relies on technological breakthroughs in core components. For example, the long-term precision of our RV (rotate vector) reducers can reach one arc-minute, while the service life of our harmonic reducers can exceed 10,000 hours," said Zheng Shibao, general manager of Welling, one of the Chinese robotics companies exhibiting at the fair.

"China's current industrial manufacturing landscape is defined by the substantial number of discrete manufacturing firms. This type of manufacturing involves a wide variety of products, produced in small batches using complex technical processes. By establishing data connectivity across all stages -- from research, development and design to production, manufacturing, and logistics services -- we have achieved substantial gains in overall efficiency," said Fu Changyou, vice president of Inspur Digital Enterprise Technology Limited.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that China's produced 556,000 industrial robots in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 14.2 percent.

25th China Int'l Industry Fair highlights tech-driven manufacturing

The United States announced on Wednesday that it will impose a 25-percent tariff on certain imported semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and related derivative products starting Thursday.

According to a proclamation by U.S. President Donald Trump posted on the website of the White House, he outlined a two-phase plan in light of suggestion from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. In the first phase, Trump said, the United States will continue negotiations with foreign authorities capable of strengthening the U.S. semiconductor industry.

Meanwhile, he said the 25-percent tariff is being applied immediately to a small portion of imported semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and derivatives deemed critical to U.S. artificial intelligence and technology policy.

The proclamation said that once the relevant negotiations are completed, the United States will extend tariffs to a wider range of imported semiconductors at a significant rate during the second phase.

The proclamation also said that Lutnick proposed a tariff-offset mechanism, under which companies that invest in semiconductor production and supply chain within the United States will be eligible for preferential tariff treatment.

In early August 2025, Trump declared that the United States would move to impose 100-percent tariffs on imported semiconductor products.

US imposes 25 percent tariff on imports of certain semiconductors