More Belt and Road countries participate in China Hi-Tech Fair 2017 in Shenzhen

More than 3,000 exhibitors from over 30 countries will present more than 1,000 new products and technologies at the China Hi-Tech Fair 2017 in the southern city of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, according to the organizers.

The six-day fair, with the theme of "innovation-driven development and supply quality upgrade", will kick of on Thursday.

CHTF is an annual event that first took place in 1999 and has become the largest State-level international high-tech fair in China, said Su Yanwei, deputy director of the fair's organizing committee.

This year's fair will display more than 10,000 products, with about 10 percent staging their global debut at the event, according to the committee.

These new products will include a 3-D robotic sorting system developed by Intel, an infrared cloak by Shenzhen Kuang-Chi and flexible rechargeable batteries by the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom and China Electronics Technology Group Corp will jointly display 5G products and solutions. Telecom giants Huawei and ZTE will showcase their smart city technologies.

Su estimates about 500,000 visitors will attend the fair from 80 countries and regions. The fair, covering a total exhibition area of 120,000 square meters, will gather delegates from ministries and State commissions, provinces and municipalities, universities and colleges, companies and startups.

Gao Yuyue, deputy secretary-general of the Shenzhen government, said the fair will set up an exhibition zone particularly for early-stage startups for the first time.

Nearly 100 exhibitors, including 50 early-stage startups and other budding entrepreneurs, will present their inventions at the zone. Meanwhile, international and local incubators and investors will also participate in the activities.

The fair's organizers began selecting candidates for the CHTF Top 10 Products Awards in late October, attracting more than 300 competitors, such as ZTE, China's genomics giant BGI and personal computer-maker Tsinghua Tongfang. The winners were announced on Friday.

Among the winners are a 6-inch flexible full-screen activematrix organic LED display and a machine that transforms air into drinking water. Visitors will have the chance to experience the advanced gadgets at the fair.

In addition, as connectivity fueled by the Belt and Road Initiative between China and other countries is increasing, CHTF sees a rise in its exchanges with international partners in line with the expansion of China's economic cooperation.

Since CHTF launched the Belt and Road Pavilion, which attracted 29 delegations from 21 countries in 2015, the themed pavilion has been on stage for three years in a row. This year, 27 countries will send their delegations to display their products at the pavilion.

In addition, exhibition groups from Argentina and Papua New Guinea will make their debut at the China Hi-Tech Fair this year.

Among these delegations that have registered with organizers is the one from Bavaria, Germany, an avid fan of the fair. CHTF 2017 will mark the delegation's 19th attendance since the first fair.

This year's event will also witness the unprecedented large-scale presence of the Czech Delegation, jointly sponsored by the Czech Embassy and the Czech Trade Office at CHTF.

Forums and lectures will be another eye-catching feature of the fair, covering the topics of artificial intelligence, new energy, resources saving, aeronautics, the internet of things, smart cities and new materials.

The main forum will focus on innovation and future technology. It aims to provoke people's thoughts about the future by displaying and sharing future-oriented, disruptive technologies.

Renowned experts and industry leaders will give their insights in the fields of gene science, graphene materials, the internet and e-commerce.

Last year, more than 3,500 exhibitors brought 23,334 high-tech projects to CHTF, attracting about 589,000 audience members from 97 countries and regions.

Doris Schneider, an official with the Nuremberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Germany - who has participated in the event since 2001 - said she was among the first participants and the only foreign exhibitor at the fair back then.

"We go to the event every year and I think it is growing bigger with more influence each year," she said during CHTF 2016.