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Robots take centre stage at Canton Fair, defying US tariff concerns

Robots take centre stage at Canton Fair, defying US tariff concerns
6 min read

Robots take centre stage at Canton Fair, defying US tariff concerns

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Robots, smart manufacturing take centre stage at Canton Fair, defying US tariff concerns

Booths displaying hi-tech products attract plenty of potential buyers at China’s oldest and biggest trade exhibition

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One of Fubao Robot’s medical guidance robots on display at the Canton Fair on Thursday. Photo: He Huifeng
He Huifengin Guangdong
At the autumn session of the twice-yearly Canton Fair – China’s oldest and largest trade exhibition – which opened this week, the busiest pavilions were those showcasing robotics, smart manufacturing and new energy vehicles.
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At the exhibition halls in Guangzhou, the capital of southern China’s Guangdong province, cameras flashed, crowds surged and long queues formed at booths displaying hi-tech products, with concerns about the shadows cast by US tariff increases thin on the ground.

The sales team at the Taixirobot booth, which featured new mountain- and stair-climbing exoskeleton robots, was swamped by a long queue of buyers from around the world.

The robots reduced wearer fatigue by 30 per cent, Taixirobot CEO Liang Linchao said, adding the company’s main target markets were Europe and America. Liang said he had talked to more than 50 potential buyers on Wednesday, the first day of the fair, and that his sales team had handled several hundred inquiries.

Formally known as the China Import and Export Fair, the 68-year-old exhibition will debut a smart healthcare robot zone later this month, where nearly 50 companies will display surgical robots, intelligent diagnostic systems and other products.

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Some manufacturers are already displaying healthcare robots. Sales staff working for Fubao Robot, a maker of medical guidance robots, struggled to keep up with a flood of inquiries from Australian, Indian and Argentinian buyers on Thursday, and said extra staff from the company’s Hangzhou factory had been sent to the fair to cope with the demand.
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