(Yicai) April 16 -- The newly added service robot zone at the first of this year's bi-annual Canton Fairs has attracted many international buyers, with their interest in innovative Chinese products remaining high despite global trade frictions.

Middle Eastern buyers have been much interested in the robotic exoskeletons on show in the new area, Yicai learned. A buyer from Ecuador inquired whether robot dogs could replace manual labor in orchards, while another overseas buyer asked if there are any robots that can be used for digging roads.

The 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair opened in Guangzhou yesterday and will run for 21 days. At about 31,000 companies, the number of participating businesses as exceeded 30,000 for the first time, according to the event’s organizer.

Covering an exhibition area of 1.55 million square meters, this edition features 55 exhibition sections and 172 product zones, with newly added zones dedicated to service robots and integrated housing solutions.

A significant portion of the service robots displayed are embodied intelligent robots represented by humanoid robots and four-legged robots, reflecting the innovative breakthroughs made by Chinese firms in robotics technology and products, Zhou Nan, secretary-general of the home appliances branch of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, told Yicai.

Buyers from South Korea, the Middle East, Europe, and other regions have been dropping by the booth of startup Taixi Intelligent, which is at the Canton Fair for the first time, to ask about the various uses of its exoskeleton robots, said General Manager Liang Linchao.

Taixi Intelligent's exoskeleton robots can assist people in performing repetitive tasks that require handling heavy objects, with the firm recently launching mountaineering robots that can help with long-distance trekking and peak climbing, Liang noted.

Beyond Imagination

"The interest of overseas buyers in robots exceeds my imagination," Ni Hualiang, chairman and chief executive of Shanghai-based Aoyi Technology, told Yicai. China has the world's most complete robotics supply chain, with highly competitive products in price and quality, Ni added.

The humanoid robots developed by Taihu Robotics are mainly used for business hall guidance or for handling factory materials, Key Accounts Manager Du Hongpeng said. Buyers from Southeast Asia, the United States, and Europe are interested in its products, Du pointed out.

“Our products have great growth potential in overseas markets,” Du added, revealing that a well-known foreign consumer electronics firm is already testing Taihu’s androids at its Chinese factory and will likely start to introduce them in its overseas plants as well, Du added.

“A complete supply chain is the edge that Chinese robotics firms have,” Du said. “From components to complete machines and end-to-end solutions, we can tailor offerings to help different customers solve their specific problems.”

A robot parts module requires the cooperation of 10 suppliers, which is difficult to do abroad, according to Aoyi Tech's Ni. "Overseas customers cannot do without us, not because of the low price, but because our products are of high quality,” he pointed out.

The robotics market may eventually surpass that of new energy vehicles for size, with "the robot industry being somewhat similar to the NEV one from 10 years ago, so we don't doubt its future," Ni noted.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev