The Internet Plus Expo, in response to the national innovation-driven development strategy, has already been successfully held twice in 2015 and 2016 and is currently preparing for its third outing.
The massive expo is being held under the guidance of the Guangdong provincial Party committee and provincial government, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
It is seen as an important initiative that will stimulate economic and social development and promote the city of Foshan as a national manufacturing innovation center.
The first Internet Plus Expo was held on Sept 10-12 in Foshan in 2015, getting support from around the nation and all sectors of the manufacturing industry.
It boasted intelligent manufacturing displays, as well as intelligent cities, robots and other nine exhibition areas.
The famous internet entrepreneur Zhou Hongyi and the well-known financial expert Wu Xiaobo attended the opening ceremony and the forum, boosting the standing of the exhibition.
The first expo also attracted 500 participants from more than 10 countries, including the US, the UK and Germany.
The debut expo appealed to many leading companies, including Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei and Lenovo.
It also drew the attention of top groups in the field of robotics.
The organizers said it had a great impact on the sector.
As the country's first internet plus expo, the first exhibition attracted significant attention from the national media.
The second expo was successfully held on Oct 20-23 last year in Guangdong Tanzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center.
Zhu Xiaodan, governor of Guangdong province, pointed out that the initiative provided a promotion for the internet companies. It also, he said, expanded exchanges and cooperation channels.
These would achieve the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry and play an important role in promoting the internet.
In the second expo, the fair's exhibitors, its quantity and quality and the display content were all promoted.
The event had an intelligent manufacturing, advanced technology and intelligent home furnishing areas and another seven exhibition areas.
There was a total exhibition area of 45,000 square meters, an increase of 45 percent over the first show.
The display content included robotics, 3D printing, virtual reality, unmanned aerial vehicles and other cutting-edge technologies, attracting widespread acclaim.
(China Daily 10/11/2017 page12)