(Yicai) Sept. 26 -- The China International Industry Fair is shining a spotlight on the country’s drive toward industrial transformation, with exhibitors showcasing technologies and products for practical, real-world applications in areas such as automation, robotics, and smart manufacturing.

“Exhibitors are more focused on practicality this year, with their showcased technologies and products directly related to real-world applications rather than just looking impressive,” Yin Zheng, executive vice president of French digital automation and energy management giant Schneider Electric, told Yicai at the CIIF.

More than 2,600 exhibitors from 28 countries and regions are attending the five-day fair that opened yesterday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. The annual event has an exhibition area of 280,000 square meters split across 10 pavilions, including Robotics, New Materials Industry, and Industrial Automation.

Industrial automation has already penetrated several fields of Chinese manufacturing, such as materials and communications, Yin said, adding that China's supply chains are eager to actively integrate smart, digital, and green technologies.

China’s manufacturing sector is going through a major transformation, driven by a national strategy to upgrade industries through innovation, automation, and digitalization. The country is striving to shift from being a low-cost manufacturing hub to a global leader in advanced industrial technology. Various initiatives have laid the groundwork for the adoption of smart manufacturing systems, robotics, and green technology to amplify productivity and sustainability.

The robotics sector is going all out to realize applications in more smart manufacturing scenarios and create more industrial value, said Chang Li, vice president of Jaka Robotics. The Shanghai-based robotics supply chain firm has brought various types of robots, including collaborative, compound, dual-arm, and humanoids, to the CIIF.

Artificial intelligence is a hot topic, said Ding Xiaohong, head of Schneider Electric's industrial automation business in China. Besides developing products based on application scenarios, cutting costs, and improving efficiency, companies should also focus on optimizing their technologies, planning industry transitions, and improving schedules, operations, maintenance, and value chains, Ding added.

China had six million manufacturers as of Aug. 31, up 5.5 percent from the end of last year. The growth of strategic emerging industries, as highlighted by the 6.4 percent increase in related enterprises, reflects the government’s focus on sectors like high-end equipment, new materials, and intelligent manufacturing, which are seen as pillars of future economic growth.

Editor: Futura Costaglione