Wuxi leads digital wave with internet of things expo

With its cutting-edge advancements in the internet of things industry, Wuxi has emerged as a Chinese front-runner in related innovation and offers a platform for sharing opportunities, senior officials said at an IoT expo.

The four-day 2023 World Internet of Things Exposition, which began on Friday, is being hosted by the Jiangsu provincial government and jointly organized by the Jiangsu Provincial Industry and Information Technology Department and Wuxi's city government.

With the theme of "Intelligent Connectivity and Integrated Empowerment", the expo features 47 events focusing on building a world-class IoT industry cluster and enabling digital transformation in the manufacturing industry through IoT.

Vice-Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xu Xiaolan said China's IoT industry had developed rapidly and had effectively promoted digitalization, artificial intelligence, environmental awareness and integration in various industries.

"With the continuous evolution of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, the digital technology and the real economy have deeply integrated and the era of intelligent interconnection of all things is accelerating," she said.

"Wuxi is a frontier for the innovative development of China's IoT industry. We hope that the World IoT Expo will serve as an important platform for sharing opportunities and creating a future together."

Hu Guangjie, vice-governor of Jiangsu, said the development of the economy and society was accelerating toward a smart interconnected world.

"Jiangsu is committed to enhancing innovation and competitiveness while actively cultivating future industries," he said, adding that the province aimed to become a global leader in IoT development.

Wuxi's core IoT industry recorded 93.45 billion yuan ($12.77 billion) in revenue last year, while the value of related industries exceeded 400 billion yuan, up 16.2 percent year on year, the city government said.

Its IoT industry accounted for nearly half of Jiangsu's total, with more than 3,000 enterprises involved in the IoT industry employing more than 200,000 people.

Du Xiaogang, Party secretary of Wuxi, said the city will use IoT as the foundation to accelerate the development of new technologies and new applications.

The expo's exhibition space, covering nearly 50,000 square meters, features four main halls: the intelligent sensor hall, the connected cars and digital life hall, the IoT smart manufacturing hall, and the new infrastructure and IoT-related industry hall.

Companies from different fields including smart sensors, connected cars and the industrial internet are showcasing more than 50 new products at the expo.

The city has signed five strategic cooperation agreements during the expo and sealed deals on 53 projects with total investment exceeding 100 billion yuan.