China’s AI event World Intelligence Expo attracts few foreign firms in Tianjin amid global rift

The four-day event was made up mostly of Chinese companies showing off electric cars and robots, as foreign firms continue to sit out Chinese industry events

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The four-day World Intelligence Expo in Tianjian ran from June 20 to 23 this year, attracting few global firms. Photo: Ben Jiang

Ben Jiangin Tianjin, China

Published: 2:59pm, 24 Jun 2024

The World Intelligence Expo held in Tianjin, a four-day trade exhibition aimed at promoting the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and industrial equipment, has seen limited participation from foreign brands this year in a trend reminiscent of other technology trade shows in China recently amid a deepening divide with Western countries.

The event, which ended on Sunday, was hosted by China’s Tianjin and Chongqing governments and boasted participation from 49 countries and regions. Most of the booths, though, were occupied by Chinese state firms such as China Electronics and China Mobile, as well as local tech giants such as Huawei Technologies and iFlyTek.

Few foreign firms showed up at the event, and the speaker list was dominated by Chinese tech executives, the Post observed during a Saturday visit. About 20 foreign firms, or 4 per cent of the 550 exhibitors, had booths at the Tianjin expo, most of which were grouped together in a corner of one of the eight exhibition sections, where foot traffic was light.

Chinese exhibitors, however, were spread across the main floor, showing off their latest electric vehicles, robots and large language models, the tech behind chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The limited participation of Western firms at another major industry event in China underscores Washington’s push for technological decoupling. Other tech-focused events have seen a similar trend. The World Semiconductor Conference this month attracted more than 200 exhibitors, down from 300 last year, with few foreign participants.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the World Intelligence Expo, calling for more global cooperation in AI development. The US, however, has been ramping up efforts to curb China’s access to advanced chips and AI technologies.