Fourth CIIE highlighted by new products, technologies

It's nothing new to control one robot to build a house. However, how does it sound like to have four of them working in phase of each other?

Four robots assemble a house at the exhibition booth of Japanese industrial robot manufacturer Nachi-Fujikoshi at the 4th China International Import Expo, Nov. 4, 2021. (People's Daily/Ju Yunpeng)

Japanese industrial robot manufacturer Nachi-Fujikoshi just brought such stunning technology to the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. At the company's exhibition booth, four robots worked simultaneously, placing assembly parts in designated points. A few minutes later, a "house" was built.

It was the first time for the Japanese company to bring to China its container house construction system, hoping to apply the system in Chinese construction projects.

The CIIE is a major platform for enterprises to debut their new products and technologies in China and even in the world at large. It is reported that the 4th CIIE has attracted a huge number of big names, including the world's three major auction houses, the top three high-end consumer fashion brands, the four largest grain traders, ten major automobile groups, ten major industrial electric enterprises, ten major medical equipment manufacturers, and ten major cosmetics companies. Massive new products have been launched at the event.

The numbers of launch events, as well as new products and technologies exhibited exceeded those in the previous three CIIEs at the event's Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products exhibition area this year. The 4th CIIE has established a special zone to hold 62 launch events for a variety of new products, technologies and services.

Photo taken on Nov. 4, 2021 shows the exhibition booth of General Electric at the 4th China International Import Expo. (People's Daily/Ju Yunpeng)

Varian, a proven leader in medical technology that has joined all four sessions of the CIIE, debuted three solutions this year in Shanghai, including a digital cancer hospital that integrates registration room, screening room, diagnosis room, cancer treatment and health management. The digital hospital is able to offer whole-process individual treatment services. Besides, the company also brought the world's first AI-assisted high-automatic contactless radiotherapy center, which reduces the duration of precise radiotherapy from 10 hours to just 15 minutes.

Among the new products launched this year, many were developed by local R&D teams of foreign enterprises, and they are expected to find good markets overseas.

AstraZeneca, another company that has joined all four CIIE sessions, established a booth for regional cooperation this year. At the first CIIE, the company launched a drug developed in Beijing, and the drug hit the Chinese marker earlier than it did in Europe and the U.S. This year, it debuted another new medicine it co-developed with Hutchison MediPharma, a global-focused novel drug discovery company in China.

"From an exhibition to a jointly built ecology of novel medicines, the CIIE is a valuable opportunity for AstraZeneca and its partners to showcase their achievements. We'll see more innovative Chinese products hitting overseas markets in the next three to five years," said Leon Wang, Executive Vice-President, international and China president of AstraZeneca.

The HistoCore Spirit HE to be debuted is the first product developed and manufactured in China by Danaher. It holds six patents. Jason Peng, president of Danaher China noted that China is not only an important market, but a research center and a manufacturing base. "It is an engine driving Danaher's global innovation, he added.

A Siemens robot exhibited at the 4th China International Import Expo which is able to grab object both automatically and manually, Nov. 4, 2021. (People's Daily/Ju Yunpeng)

Given that the pandemic prevention and control has become regular, the Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products exhibition area is one of the most highlighted area for local innovation at the event.

At the 4th CIIE, GE Healthcare launched Signa Butler, a magnetic resonance imaging machine that uses 5G wireless networks. The machine is able to connect primary-level hospitals with medical experts by synchronously transmitting real-time audios, videos and ultrasonic images. It is developed by Chinese teams of the GE Healthcare.

Zhang Yihao, president and CEO of GE Healthcare China said that to build a more resilient public health system is a common issue facing the world given the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"GE Healthcare will integrate its advantages in the good coordination between its global resources and its Chinese development teams, to constantly roll out customized products for the Chinese market, and it will join hands with more Chinese enterprises to build a healthier future with innovation," he said.