Chinese tech products are gaining ground in Italy, with entire product ecosystems now reaching local consumers and reshaping the country's electronics market.
At a large electronics retailer store in Milan, several Chinese smartphone brands have occupied prime real estate.
"I have already a Chinese phone - Huawei. [It's] very good, but now it's old, so I want to change to a new one," said a customer in the store.
"I used Xiaomi before the one I have now, and my brother uses [another Chinese brand]. I know a lot of people with Chinese brand electric devices. I really like the camera. It was really good and also the color of the back. Chinese brands really improved lately and they became really famous, more known outside," said another customer.
Beyond smartphone exports, Chinese manufacturing now covers electronic products for virtually every application scenario.
"In terms of smart phones, we grew about 19 percent compared to the revenue last year. For the wearable business, we grew about 28 percent this year, for the scooter business about 17 percent. For the TV also, about 30 percent. So we are growing compared to last year in all the markets even though the Italian market is not growing. So this is showing our strength, our power," said Paolo Marcon, a sales representative for Xiaomi.
"Many things changed in the last years. In particular the perception of the Chinese brands changed a lot. Now, made in China means innovation, high quality," said Andrea Crociani, marketing director for the Italian division of a Chinese tech brand.
Chinese tech products gain ground in Italian market
China handled an estimated over 352 million cross-regional trips on Friday, the fourth day of the Year of the Horse, with a steady growth in passenger flows during the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush, said transport authorities.
The figure represents a 3.7-percent daily growth from Thursday and a 12-percent increase year on year.
On Friday, the country's railway system handled an estimated 15 million passenger trips, increasing by 10.8 percent over the previous day.
In northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, some parts of Urumqi, Turpan and other cities experienced strong winds on Friday, prompting local authorities to adjust operation of some trains and railway lines.
"Information of affected train services was displayed on screens in the railway station hall. Once the weather improves, we will immediately resume train operations," said He Xu, a technician at the passenger transport section of the Urumqi Railway Station.
By estimation, China's road system handled an estimated passenger volume of over 332 million trips on Friday, marking a 3.4 percent daily growth.
The civil aviation sector recorded an estimated passenger volume of 2.57 million trips, up 1.9 percent from Thursday.
The waterway system handled an estimated passenger volume of 1.93 million trips, up 5.5 percent from the previous day.
The traffic volume on China's expressway network increased slightly on Friday from the day before.
The Spring Festival, which is also known as Chinese New Year, falls on Feb. 17 this year, and the official holiday lasts nine days.
The annual travel rush, "chunyun," is often described as the world's largest human migration.
It is expected to see a record 9.5 billion inter-regional passenger trips during the 40-day period from Feb. 2 to March 13 this year.
Horse Year Day 4 records 352 mln cross-regional trips
