Tradeshow held for first time ever in Asia; exhibitors less than in U.S. event
The 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Asia made its debut in Shanghai on Monday, with 25,000 registered attendees and over 200 exhibitors presenting their latest products, technology and services.
The U.S.-based International Consumer Electronics Show sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has been held in Las Vegas, Nevada each January since 1967, and is considered the world's most influential consumer electronics annual exhibition.
CES opened on Monday and will run until Wednesday at the Shanghai New International Expo Center.
"The abundance of cool technology and vast spending potential in China have spurred CES to shift its attention to Asia, to China more precisely," Jesse J, a marketer at Twitter Asia Pacific Pte Ltd who refused to give his last name, told the Global Times on Monday.
Futuresource Consulting, a British consultancy, said in late 2014 that China accounted for 22 percent of the global consumption of consumer electronics in 2014, a similar amount to the U.S.
The sales of global consumer electronics is expected to reach 790 billion euros ($867.42 billion) in 2015, increasing 1.5 percent year-on-year, and the rising momentum will continue in 2016, according to GFK, a Germany-based consultancy.
"The number of attendees and the level of exhibitors are all beyond expectations as the first CES in Asia, although the scale of exhibition is just one-tenth that in the U.S.," Liu Ning, general manager at business development department of Digital China Holdings Ltd, said Monday.
Over 200 exhibitors are appearing at the exhibition, of which 55 percent are from the Chinese mainland. The CES in Las Vegas in January 2014 attracted more than 3,200 exhibitors.
"A high-level exhibition like CES Asia is sure to attract more global exhibitors to come to China since they can better understand their consumers in China and find local partners through the exhibition," Liu noted.
CES Asia focuses on three major themes - connectivity, innovation and the Internet of Things, covering 14 product categories including 3D printing, robotics, and Smart Home technologies, according to organizers.
Beijing-based Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp, a ChiNext-listed company providing online videos, displayed its latest "super bike" at the exhibition which can process the rider's data including speed, mileage, and the rider's posture and give advice for improvements to the rider.
China Mobile M2M Company Ltd (China Mobile M2M) displayed how to intelligently manage Smart Home products through its technology as part of the Internet of Things.
"Among the many producers in this area, China Mobile is a highly competitive company in terms of its network, data platform, and the quality of its sensors," Yang Nan, deputy general manager of the market development department of China Mobile M2M, told the Global Times on Monday.
Other innovations such as 3D printing, home entertainment, video/4K Ultra HD, video gaming, robotics and wearables were also displayed at the CES Asia.
However, some of the big tech companies such as Apple Inc that frequently appear at CES in the US have not showed up at the Shanghai exhibition.
"The decline of the traditional tech companies may be the main reason for this," Cheng Jian, the editor in chief of zol.com.cn, a news portal about the technology industry, told the Global Times. "Besides, some Chinese computer manufacturers are still holding a wait-and-see attitude with CES Asia since this is its debut in China."
As for the highlights of the CES Asia in the next two days, Liu said that the public can pay attention to the forums and product release conferences.
Seven keynotes and industry mover addresses have been scheduled during the event, with speakers from senior management in Fortune 500 companies and other high-tech enterprises.
