CES: Chinese firms spreading their wings

Chinese enterprises, no matter whether they're big names, unicorn startups or small firms, share a common goal at this year's CES — to go overseas seeking more growth opportunities in the post-pandemic era.

To fulfill that goal, they are bringing their best products to Las Vegas, hoping to increase global exposure and optimize overseas market share with their international business partners.

At the Las Vegas Convention Center, China's major consumer electronics producer TCL installed its 1,650-square-meter booth adjacent to those of competitors such as Sony, LG, Samsung and Panasonic.

On the CES floor display are TCL's ultra-large-screen Mini LED QLED TV lineup, sound bars, smartphones, and augmented reality demonstrations, among others.

Mark Zhang, general manager of NABG, TCL Industries, said that only by competing against the strongest players worldwide and surviving in the most competitive market can a company grow.

According to TCL, global sales of TCL smart screens reached 16.62 million sets in the first three quarters of 2022. Now, TCL is a top 2 LCD brand both worldwide and North America, and maintain top positions in key markets around the world.

TCL's sales of premium QLED smart screens and Mini LED smart screens are leading the global market.

North America, the United States in particular, has been the most important and biggest market for TCL, said Zhang. "We are user-centric and committed to only providing customers their best experiences with purchase, usage and client service," he explained.

"We remain in close cooperation and collaboration with American high-tech giants such as Google, Roku and Dolby," Zhang said. "On the global stages, we continue to work with leading players in the fields of Mini LED, QLED TVs, AR/VR, 5G, AI and cloud computing."

As a Chinese manufacturing company that went global earlier than its counterparts, TCL has transformed from internationalization to globalization after more than two decades.

"We are the witness and one of the beneficiaries of this process," he said.

EcoFlow, a Shenzhen-based tech unicorn that makes and sells power station and battery-storage devices for home use, echoed Zhang's view.

"The majority of our annual revenue, roughly $1 billion in total, has been generated from sales in our overseas market," said Amy Ma, who works for international outreach at EcoFlow. "We have to prioritize the needs and wants of our clients."

At CES Unveiled, a small media-preview session Tuesday, Ma said the Blade, a robotic lawn-sweeping mover that won the CES 2023 Innovation Award, drew an influx of ardent visitors, many of them Europeans and Americans.

People are worrying about high power costs and the aftermath caused by extreme weather, said Brain Essenmacher, head of business development at EcoFlow.

"We try to address challenges around energy insecurity and meet clients' demands for reliable, affordable and sustainable energy," he added.

Their solution to household energy-generation and storage requires interconnections and collaboration of many parties — manufacturers in China's Guangdong province, international logistics, warehouses in Europe and North America, online and offline sales.

"Our business is brisk at this moment," said Ma. "However, we are looking for more opportunities. That is why we came to CES."

For Tony Wang, founder of Shenzhen-based Leiyin Audio, his travel from China to Las Vegas is to signify his sincerity and enhance existing cooperation with his US partners.

Wang, a graduate majoring in electrical engineering, started his business in Guangdong province in 2006. It gradually morphed into a provider of high-end headphones, earphones, headphone amplifiers, digital amplifiers and decoder-DAC for a composition of international niche-market users.

"I cannot walk so far without extending my business abroad," said Wang, emphasizing the importance for an enterprise to search for global opportunities, or chuhai.

"It has been three years since I last sat and talked face to face to them (partners) in America," said Wang. "Fortunately, our mutual trust is proven to be vigorous."

Wang said that flying from China two weeks ago to Las Vegas was a trip beyond exhausting, "but it is worth it" and he looked forward to signing several business contracts at CES.

Sam Zhu, founder of Shenzhen-based Kejinming Electronics (KJM), however, wanted to bring a little more than his Chinese counterparts did to CES.

Since the establishment of KJM in 2010, Zhu and his team have been dreaming of breaking the tech monopoly of major players in manufacturing electronic products, including projectors, digital photo frames, DVD/projector combos, and tablets.

"To outperform competitors, we need to be really good," he said.

Before 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the US, it was an annual routine for KJM to book a CES booth and fly a team into Las Vegas.

"We tour, study, observe, talk and learn from international players in this industry," he recalled. "Now, we have in our hands a few technology specialties that others are craving."

As a result, this time Zhu is at CES to wait for potential partners that need to pay for "his or her hefty tuition", he joked.