International expo to propel burgeoning sector, city's economy

Compared with the previous year, this year's World Internet of Things Expo will attract more enterprises, professionals and industry leaders.

According to the Wuxi government, more than 2,000 people will attend the main conference on Sept 10 at Taihu Lake International Expo Center. Leaders from the central government, Jiangsu provincial government and world-famous enterprises will give speeches at the conference.

Besides the main conference, 10 summit forums, an internet of things applications and products exhibition, and a smart city international conference will also be held at the event between Sept 10 and 13.

The 10 summit forums will focus on IoT technologies and their applications in various fields, including intelligent manufacturing and industrial internet, artificial intelligence, sensors and intelligent systems applications, smart transport and the internet of vehicles.

"IoT technologies are developing rapidly and have been adopted in many fields that have close connections to people's daily lives," said Gong Huaijin, deputy director of the Jiangsu Economic and Information Technology Commission. "The development of IoT will give new impetus to Wuxi's economic development."

According to a report released by the China Economic Information Service on Sept 1, the country's IoT market value increased to more than 900 billion yuan ($137 billion) in 2016, up 20 percent from the previous year.

It also said that the market value may reach 1.5 trillion yuan by 2020.

"Wuxi had more than 2,000 IoT companies as of the end of 2016," said Gao Yaguang, the city's vice-mayor. "Their market value has surpassed 200 billion yuan."

According to Gao, Wuxi-based companies generated 210 billion yuan from sales of core IoT products in 2016 and more than 150,000 people now work in the city's IoT industry.

"The city has become China's first prefecture-level city to realize the full coverage of IoT, such as in the transportation, communications and health industries. Annual sales in Wuxi's IoT industry have increased by 30 percent for three consecutive years," Gao added.

According to Ni Guangnan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Wuxi has a huge amount of experience and has played a leading role in promoting the development of IoT.

"I hope the 2017 World Internet of Things Expo will serve as an impetus to further develop the IoT in China," said Ni. "The market of IoT will be more competitive. Wuxi also needs to learn from its competitors, attract more talent and focus on developing its advanced technologies."

yuanshenggao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/09/2017 page5)