The 2026 Australia–China Economic, Trade and Investment Expo (ACETIE) and China Commodity Fair Australia (CCFA) opened in Melbourne on Thursday, facilitating the search for new opportunities in key sectors including new energy vehicles, green energy and AI.
Running for three days at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center, the expo spotlights high-tech and livelihood industries to explore cooperation and trade opportunities between Chinese and Australian enterprises. With exhibitions, themed forums and business matchmaking, the expo also supports Chinese companies looking to explore and localize in Australia.
More than 200 Chinese and Australian exhibitors are taking part in the expo. They feature extensive sections covering AI and the low-altitude economy, culture, tourism and trade in services, new energy vehicles and smart manufacturing, building materials and new-type home furnishings, food and alcoholic beverages, health and lifestyle consumption, and Chinese consumer goods.
2026 Australia–China Economic, Trade and Investment Expo opens in Melbourne
Australian entrepreneur Steven Bai, the co-founder of Sencity, said the well-developed manufacturing ecosystem in Shenzhen, a tech hub in south China, and in the broader Greater Bay Area, has helped his company turn their futuristic visions of AI products into reality.
Bai said Sencity's main product, an AI-powered rubbish bin that encourages people to discard of their litter properly, shows that the potential of AI technology is not limited to apps and screens, and can have an impact on people in their daily lives.
In order to realize that potential, Bai decided to set up shop in Shenzhen.
"Coming from a design background, but also as a person who fascinates about the potential of technology. So when I was in America, we were building a product called the TetraBIN. It was one of the world's first interactive AI trash receptacle during that time. We were trying to bring it into mass production. As a startup company, we had very limited resources. I talked to my partners and talked to my team members. I said, hey, maybe we can go to China," Bai said in an interview with China Global Television Network.
Bai says the scale and speed of high-end manufacturing in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area is like ''magic''.
"Everything you want to build in the world, you can somehow build it in Shenzhen with a very fast turn-around pace but also minimal optimized cost. So, you can go to Huaqiang North to design your first AI companion devices this afternoon and to have your first small batch units next week and by next month you might be able to ship that to the rest of the world. I think that is the magic of the Greater Bay Area," said Bai.
Bai said that by offering dynamic manufacturing and development hubs like Shenzhen, China is attracting more entrepreneurs from around the world who want to bring their ideas to life.
"Living in Australia taught me how to think and taught me how to see the world from a very creative point of view. But we also need to build the vision. And China was the place that allowed us to bring that initial vision into reality. And the Greater Bay Area was the place where we can get access to the entire ecosystem," said Bai.
Australian entrepreneur says Shenzhen’s manufacturing ecosystem helps develop AI products
