A TOTAL of 41 countries and international organizations, including 38 countries along the Belt and Road, are participating in online and offline exhibitions at the 22nd China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF), which kicked off at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center on Wednesday and will last until Sunday.

Though international travel is still subject to some restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the inconvenience has not dampened foreign countries' enthusiasm to showcase their latest products at the CHTF, which is billed as the "No.1 sci-tech exhibition" in China.

The overseas exhibitors, including a number of newcomers to the fair, are hoping to seek more Chinese partners in the science and technology sector, and attract Chinese technology enterprises to operate in their countries.

"We have one Polish company on site. More Polish companies are online because of the pandemic and they couldn't come. But we want to present our technologies and promote mutual cooperation with Chinese companies," said Karol Peczak, head of the economic section of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Guangzhou.

According to Peczak, the Polish delegation has participated in the CHTF for the fourth straight year since 2017.

"Taking the pandemic into consideration, this year's fair is above my expectations. I thought there would have been fewer exhibitors and visitors. However, we have many talks and meetings with potential partners at the fair," Peczak said.

Peczak noted the CHTF is always deemed by the Polish delegation as a very important event. "New technologies are what will bring us to the future and we want to embrace this future together with Chinese companies."

Austria has brought a delegation consisting of 10 high-tech enterprises to the fair, showing a strong willingness to cooperate with Chinese counterparts.

The 10 firms engage in a wide array of fields, including high-end printed circuit boards, freight forwarding, information logistics, stamp manufacturing, robotics and refractory products.

At the Belt and Road area in Hall 1, staff members are arranged to help introduce the tech products of foreign exhibitors who cannot come to the fair in person.

"This is a wearable, smart and personalized device to keep the optimal temperature of your skin for hours," said a staff member when introducing a therapeutic device developed by Hungarian company e-Fásli.

According to the staff member, though the exhibitors cannot demonstrate their products in person, they can be reached through videoconferencing during the fair.

Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com