China tech remains strong presence at CES amid US-Sino trade tensions
LAS VEGAS The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opening tomorrow offers a chance to showcase the newest and shiniest gadgetry, looking past the turmoil engulfing the global technology industry.
The annual Las Vegas gathering with more than 4,500 exhibitors brings out about 175,000 attendees.
The show opens against the backdrop of mounting concerns on how data gathered from connected devices can be exploited by marketers, governments and hackers.
There has also been a wave of attacks from politicians and activists against dominant tech platforms.
And though the CES is not about politics, it takes place while US-China tensions simmer over trade, tariffs, industrial espionage and national security.
China will still represent the largest non-US delegation at CES, with hundreds of exhibitors including Huawei, the smartphone and infrastructure giant that has been blacklisted by Washington over national security concerns.
"In terms of exhibit space, Chinese space is down slightly from last year, but most of the major exhibitors are returning and some even upping size of presence," said Ms Sarah Brown of the Consumer Technology Association, which organises the show.
Mr Simon Bryant of Futuresource Consulting said Chinese companies see the show as an important opportunity to demonstrate their ability to compete globally with Silicon Valley.
"Chinese firms are looking at places like Latin America and Europe, where they have enormous opportunities," Mr Bryant said.
CES offers big Chinese tech companies like Baidu the chance to show their digital assistants that compete with those of Amazon and Google, for example.
"The Chinese tech companies are very aggressive," he said.
"Their domestic market is saturated, and they need to grow outside China, but not necessarily in the US market." - AFP
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