The just concluded CES 2023, the world’s largest consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, has 493 Chinese companies taking part. This number has dropped to less than half that of three years ago as many top Chinese companies are absent from CES amid geopolitical tensions, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP) on January 7.

In 2020, just before the Covid-19 outbreak became a pandemic, Chinese companies at CES numbered 1,000, Chinese state media outlet Global Times reported at the time.

Overall, more companies have shown up at CES this year than in 2022. The event was changed to a hybrid offline-online event last year because of a surge in Covid-19 cases. In 2021, CES was held entirely online and had 210 Chinese companies participate.

Things have changed for Chinese firms since the pandemic began. The US has continued to ramp up sanctions and Beijing’s strict zero-Covid-19 policy kept most Chinese people from travelling abroad.

As a result, the biggest Chinese firms at CES this year are ones that already have large operations in the US or do significant sales in the market. Personal computer maker Lenovo Group, television brands Hisense and TCL are perhaps the best-known Chinese brands at the show. Skyworth, a Shenzhen-based firm listed in Hong Kong that is known for affordable TV options, is also exhibiting this year, according to SCMP.

Chinese companies at this year’s event are showing off a range of uncontroversial products that also reflect the country’s supply-chain strengths.

China’s strong lithium production was on full display, with many companies showing off portable power stations and other battery-related products.

Shenzhen-based Bluetti was showcased as a CES Innovation Awards Honoree for its system that connects multiple power stations to offer up to 18,432 watt-hours of power. Ugreen, another company from Shenzhen that got its start in cheap mobile accessories, introduced new power stations, said SCMP.

In some ways, the most visible trend about China’s presence at CES is which firms skipped this year’s event. Some of the biggest names in China’s technology sector have chosen to sit out or could not attend at all.

DJI, the world’s largest consumer drone maker, is not there, as Washington has put it on the notorious Entity List, which restricts its business dealings in the US. Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE, two Shenzhen-based smartphone makers that have also been blacklisted, have been absent from CES for the past few years.

The US-China tech war has made many foreign brands concerned about the political scrutiny that comes with having production on the Chinese mainland. Still, China’s critical position in the global electronics supply chain makes it nearly impossible for companies to completely extricate themselves from the country, SCMP concluded.

(Greg Gao)