2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), dubbed the "Super Bowl of tech," opens in Las Vegas on January 6, 2026. Photo: VCG

The 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held from Tuesday to Friday in Las Vegas, is expected to serve as a critical window into global technological trends and industrial competitiveness.

Compared with previous years, China's participating lineup at this year's CES reveals a shift. In the past, Chinese exhibitors at CES were mainly home appliance giants, while this year, the lineup presents a new pattern. This includes not only traditional industry behemoths such as TCL, Hisense, Changhong, and BOE, which have been deeply involved in the industry for many years, but also emerging forces such as Noetix Robotics and Neolix Technologies, according to a Securities Times report on Wednesday.

The joint display of these established brands and emerging forces illustrates the advancing technological prowess of Chinese manufacturing, showcasing both the dynamism of its new technological forces and the comprehensive strength of its industrial ecosystem.

Looking back at the global development course of "Made in China," it has long been closely associated with the label of "cost-effectiveness." However, as the core of global industrial competition has shifted to technological innovation and ecological construction, China's advantage is no longer confined to scale and cost but is increasingly rooted in a complete, deep, and innovative industrial ecosystem. Today, from industry leaders to start-ups, all take technological innovation as the core driving force and actively showcase the vitality of technological breakthroughs and product iteration. 

On the global stage of the CES, Chinese enterprises have presented innovative achievements in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, intelligent mobility, and immersive entertainment. This reflects the leap toward intelligent manufacturing, underscoring China's rising influence in global tech innovation.

Behind this leap from scale advantage to technological prowess is the continuous increase in innovation investment by China's manufacturing industry. China has become the first country to amass more than 5 million valid domestic invention patents, and its international patent applications submitted via the Patent Cooperation Treaty have led globally for six consecutive years, the China National Intellectual Property Administration has said, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

China has entered the top 10 of the Global Innovation Index for the first time, according to the 2025 ranking by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The WIPO also noted a rising concentration in China, which alone hosts 24 of the world's top 100 innovation clusters. This cemented the country's position as the global leader in innovation clusters for the third consecutive year.

Innovation achievements from technological investments are driving the improvement of new quality productive forces. China has built more than 30,000 basic-level smart factories as part of a nationwide push to accelerate industrial digitalization and intelligent upgrading, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. These factories deeply integrate robotics, big data, the Internet of Things, and AI.

More notably, from core components and advanced displays to integrated smart solutions and cutting-edge AI applications, Chinese companies are demonstrating mastery across the entire value chain. This depth allows for rapid iteration and deployment of complex technologies, from research and development (R&D) to mass production. 

On the CES exhibition floor, from smart home security to outdoor robots, and from augmented reality glasses to embodied intelligent devices, Chinese enterprises integrate technology into specific living and production scenarios based on the logic of "scene-driven innovation." 

For example, Ecovacs Robotics has displayed a number of new products and launched its latest R&D achievements in embodied intelligence and its pool robots for the first time. Sichuan Changhong Electric Co has showcased innovative products such as panda-themed AI home appliances and 100-inch AI TVs.

From "manufacturing" to "intelligent creation," and from "cost-effectiveness" to "innovation capability," Chinese companies are actively shaping global technology trends, with their vitality stemming from not only scale but also increasingly rooted in an innovative industrial ecosystem.