From a smartphone with an AI-powered motorized camera to smart glasses that offer translation, Chinese firms are leveraging a trade fair in Kashgar City of northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to pitch consumer technology to buyers from Central Asia.
South China's industrial powerhouse of Guangdong, the fair's first guest province, has brought 304 companies to the Kashgar trade fair, with displays spanning smart manufacturing, advanced equipment and consumer technology.
One of the products on display is Honor's newly launched Robot Phone. Unlike a conventional smartphone, it combines AI interaction and advanced mobile imaging with a motorized gimbal camera that can rotate and follow people or objects, helping keep them in the frame as they move.
Another Guangdong exhibitor, Shenzhen Yiming Electronics, has brought AI smart glasses, smartwatches and translation earbuds to the fair.
"I've checked a lot of products on display here. In particular, the AI glasses are of high quality, better than those made in other countries. They can play music and make mutual translations in more than 100 languages. They're very convenient," said Dilovar Jumaev, a purchasing representative with Tajikistan's Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The 16th Kashgar Central and South Asia Commodity Fair, which runs through Aug. 18, has brought together government representatives, buyers and companies from 44 Belt and Road partner countries, alongside more than 1,000 Chinese enterprises across a 46,000-square-meter exhibition area.
Beyond technology, Guangdong exhibitors are also displaying household appliances and tea products, with food events combining Cantonese culinary ideas with local Xinjiang flavors. Organizers have also launched an online platform designed to connect Guangdong suppliers with businesses in Xinjiang.
The trade fair gives Chinese companies a chance to test demand, build contacts and explore new sales channels in Central and South Asian markets.
Chinese firms court Central Asian buyers with Robot Phone, AI glasses at trade fair
China on Tuesday released the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for promoting the development of its electronic information manufacturing industry, laying out a comprehensive strategy to enhance global competitiveness of some key sectors.
The plan was jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the National Development and Reform Commission.
The plan provides that by 2030, the operating revenue of the enterprises above a designated scale in China's electronic information manufacturing industry will have exceeded 30 trillion yuan (about 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars), with a number of advanced technologies and products emerging in fields such as integrated circuits, advanced computing and consumer electronics,
The industry will also have world-class enterprises that can compete on the global market by 2030 and its research and development investment intensity is expected to reach 3.5 percent by that time.
"By 2030, China's electronic information manufacturing industry will have played a pivotal role in the global industrial landscape, with a substantial increase in fields where it takes the lead or runs neck and neck with others. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), the industry will continue to promote innovative development in a number of key areas," said Li Hongwei, chief engineer with China Electronic Information Industry Development Research Institute.
The plan lays out 17 tasks around four areas -- consolidating the industry's foundational capacity, boosting the competitiveness of complete electronic equipment and systems, helping the industry foster new growth drivers, and enhancing the industry's capacity for sustainable development.
These tasks include accelerating the innovation and application of smart sensors, consolidating the development foundation of the photonics industry, accelerating the innovative development of consumer electronics, and strengthening the hardware foundation of artificial intelligence, among others.
Li said that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China's consumer electronics industry will experience deeper integration with AI, helping drive the development of some key technologies and products.
"As AI is more and more deeply integrated into the consumer electronics industry, new product categories such as AI phones, AI computers, AI glasses and AI toys keep emerging. This will accelerate the iterative upgrading of key technologies and products in the field of consumer electronics terminals, including edge-side large models, AI chips and high-bandwidth memory," he said.
China releases plan to enhance global competitiveness of electronic information manufacturing industry
