CAEXPO Signaling China-ASEAN Cooperation in Electronic Appliances

Written by Huang Yunyun / Translated by Chen Zhiying

In modern society, our production and life are inseparable from electronic appliances. They bring convenience to social production in  communication equipment, intelligent os, intelligent household appliances, etc. In recent years, they have made presence in the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) regularly. In response to the demand of the intelligent era and ASEAN market, they will also make a grand debut at the 18th CAEXPO this year, injecting new vitality into China-ASEAN cooperation in high tech industries.

Intelligent electronic appliances penetrate into many fields in ASEAN

In recent years, big data, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence have gradually become trending topics. They all show two directions: digitization and intelligence, which are important trends of the current global development. In this context, the pace of digital transformation in emerging markets including ASEAN is accelerating.

In 2020, Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam put forward the ASEAN Intelligent Manufacturing Initiative 2020. It is expected that the intelligent manufacturing in the ASEAN region will start to grow strongly from 2025. One of the bases of intelligent manufacturing is the Internet of Things, which uses digital technology to link multiple design procedures during the production and requires connections between equipment, products, users and administraters. Therefore, VR/AR equipment, 3D printing technology, robotics, and automation technology have received great attention. At present, Singapore has built a number of innovation and technology training centers to conduct research on related technologies in Internet of Things.

In addition to smart manufacturing, smart home, smart city, and other concepts are also sought after in ASEAN. Take smart cities as an example. According to the United Nations, the urban population of ASEAN will increase by 90 million by 2030. Cities are facing traffic jams, air pollution, floods, or other more serious problems. Therefore, governments are looking forward to building smart cities to solve the problems by digital means. Among them, Japan has actively participated in building smart cities in ASEAN region. Japanese enterprises have promoted urban development in the suburb of Hanoi, Vietnam, and planned to put energy-saving equipment and driverless buses to use on 310 hectares of land.

In terms of smart home, the number of smart phones in Southeast Asia is increasing year by year, serving as an important step to promote smart home. Artificial Intelligent of Things (AIoT) unicorn enterprise Tuya aims at the Philippines with rapid economic growth and younger population structure, and cooperates with local well-known mobile phone brands to sell smart plug-in and mobile phones. The Philippine market has plug products of different specifications such as local plug and plugs of European standard and Japanese standard. However, the intelligent universal plug produced by Tuya can be used in any scenarios and automatically display power consumption. Thus, it has become one of the most popular products in the Philippines.

These are only a few examples showing ASEAN’s demand for intelligent electronic equipment. In a word, intelligence is the general trend in ASEAN countries and provides a driving force for the social and economic modernization.

China and ASEAN boast cooperation foundation in smart electronic appliances

The demand of ASEAN countries for smart electronic appliances presents us a great opportunity. Since they have not yet cultivated a technological system that is mature enough, Japan and South Korea vie to expand their influence in ASEAN market through various ways. With Chinese enterprises joining the competition, this market is becoming much more fierce.

Among them, smart phones are Chinese enterprises’ stong suit. Wu Yiwen, Senior Analyst of StrategyAnalytics, said that under the background of China’s satuated smartphone market, brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have strengthened their efforts in ASEAN, and their market share has steadily increased. Take the Vietnam market as an example, Chinese manufacturers occupy a dominant position there. To provide affordable products and innovative channels is the main strategy taken by Chinese enterprises.

In terms of intelligent manufacturing, China leads the 3D printing technology in the world. The Raise3D printer developed by Shanghai Fuzhi Information Technology Co., Ltd. has a good performance in Thailand. Thailand engineering innovation development and technical service center has purchased more than 20 Raise3D Pro2 printers. “We are very satisfied with the printing quality. Thanks to the large printing volume of the printer, we can also produce large parts. With low costs, we can provide our customers with prototype parts with prices as low as 100 baht (about RMB 21 yuan), which was impossible a few years ago,” said Monkorchas, the person in charge of the center.

Smart home is also a field that Chinese enterprises participate in. For example, Skyworth takes advantage of sponsoring Southeast Asian Games to promote OLED AI TV and 65 inch 4K smart TV locally. These TVs are embedded with Android 9.0 System and can be connected with all kinds of smart appliances. Skyworth’s air conditioners, refrigerators, and other household appliances also entered the Southeast Asian market, forming an AIoT smart home system. In addition, Haier has accelerated the promotion of smart appliances in the Philippines.

With the focus on intelligence, the cooperation between China and ASEAN in electronic appliances has featured prosperous development. With the development of cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things, 5G, and other new technologies, more humanized and intelligent electronic products will enter ASEAN in the future.

Intelligent electronic products displayed in CAEXPO

As a bridge and platform connecting China and ASEAN merchants, the CAEXPO focuses on displaying goods with strong difference and complementarity between China and ASEAN, among which intelligence is a popular element in the electronic appliances pavilion and advanced technology pavilion in recent years.

“There are so many amazing exhibits in the advanced technology pavilion, providing a visual feast for people,” said Cody Sitysongtongwen, a businessman from Thailand. He still remembers a batch of technological achievements and products related to artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and smart city appearing in the advanced technology pavilion in the 16th CAEXPO.

For example, in terms of smart city construction, Shenzhen Dashun Laser Technology Co., Ltd. participated in the CAEXPO with its self-developed 3D scanning aerosol polarization lidar. It can scan and detect air and pollution, accurately locate the source of pollution, predict the pollution spread trend, and achieve unattended operation. “Not only can it monitor and warn before a fog, but also guide the vehicle to drive safely in the fog.” According to the staff, it  has finally made the early warning and forecast of fog on expressways possible, ensures the traffic safety, and provides data support for the timely and early warning and forecast for expressway departments.

In addition to smart weather related products, cutting-edge scientific and technological outcomes related to smart travel, smart home, and smart manufacturing, such as robots, UAVs, 3D printing technology, VR/AR devices, and intelligent software, also appeared in the CAEXPO. In the advanced technology pavilion of the 17th CAEXPO, value preserving UAV by Eagle Bother, 5G/AR intelligent safety helmet by Ankang Hongtian, artificial intelligence robots by Guihui China, and other cutting-edge technologies competed with each other. The CAEXPO not only shows the powerful strength of China’s smart manufacturing, but also provides a platform for Chinese and foreign merchants to exchange and purchase.

“This is our latest generation of equipment, with stable image quality and efficient heat dissipation...” At the electronic and electrical equipment procurement docking meeting of the 17th CAEXPO, a representative of an electrical technology company from Chengdu enthusiastically recommended their latest developed projector to purchasers. On the same day, 50 professional buyers of electronic appliances from Pakistan, Tajikistan, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo and other countries held face-to-face talks with hundreds of exhibitors.

The 18th CAEXPO will be held from September 10 to 13, 2021, during which we can still see all kinds of intelligent products. It is reported that China’s products under the theme of Trade in Goods will display intelligent equipment, such as intelligent energy and electricity, construction machinery and transportation vehicles, food processing and packaging equipment, etc. In addition, products related to innovative applications of digital economy, smart home appliances and consumer electronics will also be showcased in the 18th CAEXPO. In the advanced technology exhibition pavilion, the technology and products within the scope of intelligent manufacturing will surely become the focus.

With the acceleration of smart manufacturing of electronic appliances and closer economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN, more scientific and technological innovation achievements will be shared and discussed in the CAEXPO. What kind of electronic appliances will be presented this year, and what cooperation will they promote? The 18th CAEXPO will give us the answer.