World's largest industrial fair opens in Shanghai, featuring latest manufacturing technologies

The China International Industry Fair (CIIF), the largest exhibition of its kind in the world, kicked off in Shanghai on Monday, highlighting the city's global industrial strength.

Under the theme of "Intelligent Economy, Limitless Smart Manufacturing," the five-day fair has attracted more than 3,000 domestic and foreign exhibitors to showcase their their high-tech products.

A robotic arm using multi-contact interaction technology is on display at the fair, allowing any part of the arm to be sensitive to human touch.

Developed by a Shanghai-based firm, it is the first of its kind to enter mass production.

"Robotic arms are already widely used in factories today. But our goal is to bring them into far broader service and daily-life scenarios. Our multi-contact technology delivers robust safety when the robotic arm interacts with humans in these future service and home settings. At the same time, it enables much more natural human-robot interaction," said Yu Hongmin, senior brand manager of Flexiv, a deep-tech company based in Shanghai.

Robots are far from the only technology Chinese firms are presenting at the show. The Full-Ocean-Depth Launch and Recovery System won the China International Industry Fair award this year.

The system enables smooth long-span transfers, safe release, and rapid capture between deck and water amid harsh polar cold and ice-water of submersibles. This technology has been widely used.

"If we hadn't developed these technologies, we would've had to import equipment worth nearly 1 billion yuan (about 149.4 million U.S. dollars). Moving forward, it will be deployed on various research vessels and offshore engineering platforms," said Ding Hu, director of the Shanghai Marine Equipment Research Institute. While domestic companies are showing their strength, international collaboration is also a key feature of the fair. Global robot giant ABB is collaborating with its Chinese partners, noting that China's advanced industrial ecosystem offers strong backing for its innovations.

"We came to China bringing the technology from Europe, but over the years now it's balancing out. We are developing robots which we call 'China for China'. But what is happening? They're becoming 'China for the World' because they are so good," said Marc Segura, president of ABB Robotics.

World's largest industrial fair opens in Shanghai, featuring latest manufacturing technologies

Diplomats, scholars and young content creators gathered in Beijing on Monday for the "No. 7A Salon," a special briefing marking the first anniversary of the Global Governance Initiative proposed by China, to explore a path toward a China-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) community with a shared future.

The event was hosted by the China Public Diplomacy Association, whose organizers see young digital storytellers as a vital bridge for deepening people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and the region.

Addressing the salon, China's special representative for Latin American affairs Qiu Xiaoqi highlighted the achievements of China-LAC cooperation, saying the two sides have acted in growing concert on the global stage, from international institutions to shared positions against coercive practices.

"Over the past year or so, China and Latin American and Caribbean countries have actively advanced the building of the China-LAC community with a shared future through five major programs focusing on unity, development, civilization, peace and people-to-people bonds, and have made joint contributions to a more just and equitable global governance system. The two sides have worked closely together under multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, BRICS, APEC and the China-CELAC Forum. They speak with one voice and make concerted efforts on global issues including multilateral trade, climate change and food and energy security, and jointly oppose unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonic practices," said Qiu.

Chinese officials attending the meeting reaffirmed Beijing's principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of LAC countries, saying China's modernization experience offers a useful reference for countries in the region as they explore their own development paths. On artificial intelligence (AI), the officials voiced readiness for cooperation with the region, while stressing that the technology must remain under human control.

Public diplomacy association hosts salon on China-LAC shared future