The 2nd Global Digital Trade Expo is set to begin on November 23 in Hangzhou. The five-day expo, which is the first national digital trade fair backed by the central government, serves as a forum for presenting new digital technologies and products as well as debating new industry standards, trends, markets and cooperation.

This year's event is co-sponsored by the Zhejiang government and the Ministry of Commerce and co-hosted by the Hangzhou government, Zhe-jiang Commerce Bureau and Trade Development Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce.

The event will be held at the Hangzhou International Expo Center, where 100,000 square meters of display space will fall into a comprehensive hall, two feature halls and four digital industry halls.

The comprehensive hall will focus on guest countries, international organizations, provinces and cities.

The two feature halls will showcase the most cutting-edge exploration, innovation, reform results and global pioneering digital trade items, as well as Silk Road e-commerce.

The four digital industry halls show-case digital technologies, services, content and smart transportation.

More than 80 exhibitors will dis-play their innovative products in the digital technology hall. Visitors will be able to check out the technical trade, patent transformation, innovative applications in artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, blockchain, 5G, the Internet of Things and virtual reality.

Hangzhou Lingban Technology Co will showcase the latest personal space-computing platform, Rokid AR Studio, which allows consumers to experience multi-screen office work, AR automobile watching, and spatial games. That is going to be a new consumption scenario.

Hangzhou Shenhao Co will bring the robot "Thunder" to the expo. It could replace steeplejacks in several traditional businesses because it can perform remote operations, multi-dimensional feedback and endoscopic vision, and connect wires and trim branches at heights of up to 20 meters.

The quadruped robots used at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games will be displayed. Hangzhou Deep Robotic Co has upgraded the robots, allowing them to work in temperatures ranging from 55 degrees Celsius to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

In the digital service hall, 66 exhibitors will present their innovative ideas in medical services and diagnostics, digital banking, insurance, logistics and consulting, as well as education.

Digital technologies are making medical care smarter as they help to generate health solutions that benefit patients through instant and convenient diagnostic methods.

Visitors to the site can scan the QR code and generate a professional short-stature risk report to identify potential risks of growth disorders among children. Dian Diagnostics Co, based in Hangzhou, developed this system.

Another trend is smart transportation. The smart transportation hall, themed "Future, Intelligence, Interaction," takes smart cars and green energy as the pinnacle of auto driving and human-computer interaction technologies.

Domestic carmakers Leapmotor, Li, and Zeeker will bring new products to present interactive scenes of "car + travel."

Hangzhou is every AI company’s dreamland to pioneer cutting-edge technologies and new applications. Neolix’s autonomous delivery vehicles will be on display during the event. Hundreds of driverless cars were used in Hangzhou during the Double 11 (November 11), an online shopping event in China, and the single-day delivery volume of a single Neolix exceeds that of an ordinary truck.

The goal of the 2nd expo is "professionalization, internationalization, and marketization," with the theme "Digital Trade Connecting the World" and four sections, namely conferences, exhibitions, platforms and events.

The inaugural expo was attended by approximately 800 domestic and international businesses. During the expo, 315 products from 286 firms made their debut, and 89 unicorn projects were signed for a total investment of 150 billion yuan (US$20.71 billion).

The Hangzhou government is com-mitted to achieving the objectives of "specialization, internationalization, and marketization" by focusing on platform building, integration, and innovation to develop the global digital expo. Hangzhou was the first pilot area for cross-border e-commerce in China, approved in 2015. This year's expo will feature the Hangzhou Initiative for Digital Trade Development and Cooperation and the Global Digital Trade Innovation Competition. The Hangzhou government plans to establish a Global Digital Trade Think Tank and a Global Digital Trade Alliance. It will assume leadership in digital trade legislation throughout China and bring together international (regional) organizations, leading enterprises, and business associations involved in digital trade.

We welcome everyone to the beautiful city of Hangzhou!