The booth of Hisense at CES 2022 Photo: Courtesy of Hisense

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the US, which has been a barometer of global consumer electronics technology, is drawing global attention for its first on-site exhibition after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, but many Chinese companies said they will not attend, either online or in person, due to the epidemic and the US' crackdown on Chinese tech firms. 

While some Chinese companies are still attending, the notable absences of many Chinese companies highlighted that the global electronics show is eclipsed by not just the COVID-19 pandemic but also the US' tech war, which has severely disrupted technological cooperation between Chinese and US businesses, analysts said on Tuesday.

In total, over 2,200 exhibitors have confirmed to exhibit in person at CES 2022, held from Wednesday to Friday, the Consumer Technology Association announced. The offline exhibition will focus on digital health, food technology, autonomous driving, smart home and many other fields.

It remains unclear how many Chinese companies will show up at CES 2022. But many companies have told the Global Times that they will not attend.

An executive of a Chinese tech company, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the firm is not allowed to set up a booth at the expo, as Washington has added the company in its so-called entity list. 

"Political factors are weighing more and more in normal tech communication, though CES organizers deny it," the executive said.

Some Chinese companies told the Global Times that the COVID-19 outbreak in the US is another concern that persuaded Chinese enterprises to stay away.

If CES lacks the participation of Chinese companies, its profile is bound to be greatly reduced, and it cannot be ruled out that it will gradually lose its position as the center of industrial exhibition in the future, Ma Jihua, an independent industry analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"As some Chinese technology companies are unable to participate in exhibitions and conduct business in the US, the US is also suffering from the loss of technological exchange windows and disruptions to industrial chains. Historically, the result of isolation has always been a decline," said Ma.

A record high of 1,551 Chinese firms took part in the CES in 2018, accounting for more than one-third of total participants. But the number of Chinese firms then decreased each year, as the US waged a trade war against China since 2018. Some 1,213 Chinese firms showed up at CES 2019, accounting for about one-quarter of the total participants, and in 2021, the number plunged to 210, accounting for 11 percent.

The trade friction between China and the US provoked by the US has distorted the global industrial chain and hindered the optimal allocation of global resources, and such distortion will do nothing to help the US economic recovery, Hu Qimu, chief research fellow at the Sinosteel Economic Research Institute, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Politicizing normal scientific and technological activities and adopting policies such as blockade and decoupling will only hinder progress and undermine countries in expanding their comparative advantages in the global industrial chain," said Hu.

Some Chinese firms will still send employees to the expo for potential business chance.

Chinese firms still value the CES platform as it provides chances to expand overseas sales channel but it is unfortunate that politics has intervened, according to the executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

For example, Hisense will display the world's first 8K laser display solution, 8K picture quality chip and 8K mini-LED TV at CES 2022, the company told the Global Times on Tuesday.

RoboSense based in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, a service provider of Smart LiDAR Sensor System that has been widely used in automatic vehicles, unmanned vehicles and other segments of intelligent transportation, also told the Global Times that the company will attend in person.

Lenovo group will participate in CES 2022 online due to the COVID-19, and new products will be unveiled, the company told the Global Times, adding that it is one of the most important exhibitors of CES.