Expo puts Internet Plus technology in spotlight

The fourth China (Guangdong) International Internet Plus Exposition, to be held from Wednesday to Saturday in Foshan, will offer visitors the chance to see new technologies and products in fields such as e-commerce and telecommunications.

Themed "Digital Life, Business and Production", the 50,000 square-meter expo will feature six display areas: advanced Internet Plus technology; digital business; digital life; innovation and entrepreneurship; robots; and intelligent manufacturing. Nearly 700 exhibitors including Baidu and Huawei are expected to attend.

The event has drawn much attention from overseas, according to the organizers, with 10 exhibitors from German trade fair CeBIT due to appear, bringing their latest products, solutions and innovative ideas in fields such as big data processing.

In the British pavilion, eight UK-based enterprises will showcase high-end facial recognition, design simulation, intelligent building and smart city technologies.

Not to be outdone, e-commerce giant JD is set to display some of its "unmanned" technologies used in aerial vehicles, cars, warehouses and supermarkets.

While in the Baidu AI united pavilion, the company's self-driving bus and virtual reality technology will be on show, as well as its DuerOS artificial intelligence operating system.

In the intelligent logistics section, Honeywell and 14 other brands will exhibit their high-quality products, and three Chinese telecoms companies will showcase their latest achievements in the application of digital technology.

Talks will also be held on new internet, big data and AI products and technologies, to promote the upgrading of traditional industries.

Hao Pinwei, president of Shenzhen-based CNET Telecom, will deliver a speech on "smart" agriculture, communications technology and traditional Chinese medicine, in his role as exhibitor's representative.

Foshan initiated the China (Guangdong) International Internet Plus Exposition in 2015 and has developed it into a platform for exhibiting, buying, discussing and cooperating in Internet Plus technologies. The event aims to promote the application of the government's Internet Plus strategy in industrial and social management, its organizers said.

This year's exposition also includes a series of forums. The ongoing Sino-German (Foshan) Intelligent Manufacturing Cooperation Conference, hosted by German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association, has gathered 50 international CEOs to discuss the newest topics and development trends in the industry.

The conference will promote understanding between the association, also known as ZVEI, and local companies in Foshan, insiders said.

Other activities taking place during the expo include a digitalized factory application and development conference, an unmanned aerial vehicle industry development forum and a robot and AI competition.

The unmanned aerial vehicle forum will discuss UAV production standards and regulations, safe movement at low altitudes and key technologies related to UAVs－plus agriculture－while the robot and AI competition, now in its third year, will focus on innovation.