CES: Chinese companies display tech innovation

Chinese enterprises, which account for 16 percent of exhibitors at this year's CES, are showcasing a wide array of innovative and disruptive products and services at the annual consumer electronics industry gathering.

According to the CES organizer's statistics, the 480-plus Chinese companies present include big names such as TCL, Lenovo and Hisense as well as small startups.

Product categories range from audiovisual, electric vehicles, metaverse, smart home and autonomous driving to gaming and computer software, digital health and sustainable energy.

Among the lineup from China are 180 startups and small-sized companies headquartered in Guangdong province, one of China's most economically vibrant areas, which also plays a vital role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

RoboSense, based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, joins its South China peers by bringing to CES their automotive-grade LiDAR M series and E series sensors.

Regardless of operational scale and development history, Chinese companies at CES tend to position themselves as global players, and many reiterate the importance of and their commitment to continuous innovation and research.

During a presentation Wednesday at a media preview session, David Gold, president of TV manufacturer Hisense (USA), introduced the company's new product UX — an 85-inch, 4K, mini-LED QLED TV powered by Hisense's new ULED X platform. The unit features more than 20,000 mini-LEDs.

"We are not just about innovating, we are about making technology widely available" for consumers, said Stephan Yao, general manager of Hisense USA. Accordingly, 5 percent of Hisense's yearly revenue will be used to boost R&D.

TV industry analysts ranked Hisense No 1 in China and second globally in volume of shipments in the second quarter of 2022.

That hard-won market position enabled Hisense to become an official sponsor of the recently concluded FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022.

Evaluated by a stringent judging panel and competing against counterparts worldwide, award-winning Chinese companies were "honored for outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products", said the CES organizer.

In home audio and video components and accessories, TCL Electronics won two innovation awards for its Mini LED 4K TV 75C935 and Mini LED 4K TV 75C835, scoring high on display, design, and viewer accessibility for home theater experiences.

Zhang Shaoyong, CEO of TCL, said the company has established a well-rounded supply chain on a global scale, with business spanning Asia, the United States, Europe, Latin America and Oceania, and sales in over 80 countries and regions.

For computer giant Lenovo, the aim is to provide individuals and small-to-medium-sized businesses with devices and computing systems in an ever-changing workplace.

The ThinkPad X1 Fold, with the adoption of a 16.3-inch display that folds down to the footprint of a 12-inch notebook, won the CES Innovation Award in the computer hardware and components category. Its Project Chronos, which captures movement via a camera that replicates users' real-time actions, propelled Lenovo to an award in virtual and augmented reality.

In robotics and smart homes, several products made in China, such as the Enabot EBO X family companion robot, Snapmaker Artisan 3-in-1 3D printer, and Airly Chair, outperformed their international counterparts and were awarded for the deployment of connectivity and artificial intelligence technologies.