The 2024 China International Consumer Electronics Expo opens at the Qingdao International Convention and Exhibition Center on Oct 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2024 China International Consumer Electronics Expo opened at the Qingdao International Convention and Exhibition Center on Oct 18. More than 300 domestic and foreign consumer electronics companies gathered in a 50,000-square-meter exhibition area to showcase new technologies, products, and trends in the consumer electronics industry.

The expo is currently the only national-level, professional exhibition in Shandong province. Since its inception in 2001, the expo has been held 20 times.

The consumer electronics sector is an important part of household consumption and a vital industry in the national economy. Qingdao is a major hub for the consumer electronics industry, boasting national-level innovation centers for high-end smart home appliances and virtual reality.

The smart home appliance industry cluster in Qingdao has been selected as a national-level advanced manufacturing cluster, nurturing renowned companies like Haier, Hisense, and Aucma. In 2023, the city's major consumer electronics production reached 63.8 million units, accounting for approximately 9.6 percent of the total national output, with the industry's scale surpassing 300 billion yuan ($42.14 billion). This year, the city's consumer electronics product market has been robust, with 760,000 household appliances sold through trade-in programs, generating 2.97 billion yuan in sales revenue.

This year's expo targeted current global trends in the consumer electronics industry, deepening the concepts of specialization, high-end, and internationalization in exhibition management. Combining Qingdao's local industry characteristics, the expo aims to create a precise platform for supply-demand matching and promote bilateral investment through collaborative exchanges.

The expo featured five main themed areas: smart home, new display, artificial intelligence, digital smart life, and digital consumption, covering consumer electronics, artificial intelligence, new displays, virtual reality, smart manufacturing, smart travel, and more. The event brought together over 300 consumer electronics companies from countries and regions such as China, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, and Malaysia.

Compared to the previous edition, there has been a 14-percent increase in the number of participating companies, including 55 well-known domestic and international brands, with 28 new brands making their debut. The number of brand exhibitors has increased by 10 percent, and the participation of industry leaders and the scale of exhibitions have increased significantly compared to previous editions.