The 2008 China International Consumer Electronics Show (SINOCES) began yesterday in Qingdao, a coastal city in eastern Shandong province, with the theme "connected anytime, anywhere".

The show, which will continue through Sunday, is a showcase of the consumer electronics community's latest technologies and cutting-edge products. It also serves to broaden cooperation and promote progress in the sector, said Jiang Yaoping, vice-minister of Ministry of Commerce

"China's consumer electronics industry has witnessed a brisk growth in recent years and it has become an important component in our foreign trade," Jiang said, adding that the import and export volume of the sector reached $48 billion in 2007.

Highlighting eco-friendly, resource conserving and barrier-free communication technology, the fair has exhibition sections for IT, communications, network operation, environmental protection, industrial design, security and components.

About 500 exhibitors from the electronics, domestic appliance and Internet sectors have 1,320 exhibition booths over 36, 000 sq m of display space to show their products and technologies.

Some 70,000 to 80,000 visitors from home and abroad are expected to participate in the event, according to event organizers. Among exhibitors are giants like HP, Dolby, Toshiba, Haier, TCL and Changhong.

Buyers include household names Best Buy, Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Chinese electronics retailers Gome and Suning.

Haier Group is using the show to launch its latest U-home and eco-friendly, energy-saving products.

"In response to the State's environmental protection policies, all products we show this time are environmentally friendly and energy-saving," said Zhang Peng, general manager of Haier Marketing and Planning Co Ltd.

Haier has provided more than 60,000 such products to the Olympic Village, illustrating the idea of Green Olympics that China has pledged to the world, Zhang added.

TCL has also brought its high-end products, highlighting eyesight-protecting and energy-conserving features.

Twelve award-winning cutting-edge consumer electronics products on display for the first time in China are major attraction of the fair.

SINOCES is playing an increasingly important role in promoting the industry and linking domestic manufacturers with world markets, organizers said.

Symposiums on future green technology, innovations to power the "digital home" and industrial development of consumer electronics are also part of the fair.

In cooperation with the famed Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas every year, SINOCES is reaching out to integrate itself further into the global consumer electronics industry.

As the world's largest manufacturing center and second-biggest consumer of electronics, China is playing a significant role in changes underway of the global industrial chain for electronics.

(China Daily 07/11/2008 page24)