Chinese brands shine at Hainan expo with creative consumer products

Innovative Chinese brands showcased their capability to appeal to consumers at home and overseas at the just-concluded fifth China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in south China's Hainan Province.

The six-day event, which opened in Haikou on Sunday, has attracted exhibitors from more than 70 countries and regions. As China's only national-level exhibition focused on consumer goods, this year's edition emphasizes innovation and global collaboration, drawing the participation of over 4,100 brands from over 70 countries and regions.

Established players like Bloomage Biotechnology see technology as their edge, and the brand's chairwoman and CEO Zhao Yan emphasizes its strategy of building technology at home to stay competitive in the global market.

"To truly build brands that resonate today, both at home and abroad, we must ask what's our advantage against global giants. I believe it's technology. Forge strong Chinese brands, earn the trust of our own consumers first, that's the bedrock for winning global respect," said Zhao Yan, chairman and CEO of Bloomage Biotechnology.

Startups and niche creators are also riding the wave, forging cultural connections and innovation to produce smash-hit products. Among them, the translation glasses from RayNeo have drawn crowds at the expo.

"It's very good because I've been here for a few months and language barrier is one of the biggest problem we found in China. And it really helps a lot, really good, and I will definitely purchase it," said a visitor.

"We have already done a great job in the overseas market. This one is available in U.S., Europe, and Japan, and we are also trying to see if we can get into more markets this year," Li Xiaojie, marketing manager of RayNeo.

At the same time, numerous products also shined in a special area dedicated to showcasing traditional Chinese brands that blend tradition with modernity, demonstrating how the classics can reinvent themselves to adapt to today's market.

"China's evolution, the Chinese brands, Guochao brands, their manufacturing is really honed to perfection. There is a high level of precision, high degree of manufacturing, not only are we importing brands into China, we are also exporting the Guochao Chinese brands overseas," said Nancy Liu, president of DFS China under the DFS Group, the world's leading luxury travel retailer.

Chinese brands shine at Hainan expo with creative consumer products

China's digital industry generated 8.5 trillion yuan (about 1.18 trillion U.S. dollars) in revenue in the first quarter, representing a 9.4 percent year-on-year increase.

According to data released Friday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the growth rate is 4.4 percentage points higher than that recorded in the same period last year.

Breaking it down, revenue in the digital manufacturing sector grew by 10.4 percent, while the digital services sector saw an 8.2 percent rise.

The number of 5G base stations in China surpassed 4.39 million by the end of March, with user penetration reaching 75.9 percent, the ministry reported in April.

The digital economy's core sectors have maintained stable growth, with the software industry alone generating 3.1 trillion yuan in revenue, up 10.6 percent year-on-year. China has been committed to developing digital technology to transform and upgrade its traditional industries.

According to this year's government work report, the country will "accelerate the digitalization of manufacturing, foster a number of service providers with both industry expertise and digital know-how, and bolster support for the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises."

China is also advancing an "AI Plus" initiative, which seeks to effectively integrate digital technologies with the country's manufacturing capabilities and market strengths.

China's digital industry revenue up 9.4 pct in Q1