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Twenty thousand expected at tech expo in Shanghai

23 February 2021 19:22 (UTC +04:00)

China is hosting one of the few in-person technology trade shows since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, APA reports citing BBC.

More than 200 companies and about 20,000 people are expected to attend Mobile World Congress Shanghai.

But the three-day event has been scaled back from previous years - 60,000 were at the last MWC Shanghai, in 2019.

Faces masks are obligatory at the show. And exhibitors have been told they must observe "strict" capacity limits at their stands.

The event's organiser said the combination of Covid-prevention measures and the country's vibrant technology sector meant it was the only place that could host such an exhibition at this time.

"We believe this congress will help strengthen the confidence of the global industry," GSMA trade association head of Greater China Sihan Bo Chen added.

The trade show takes place against the backdrop of continuing US-China trade tensions.

At Huawei's keynote address, chairman Ken Hu said it had managed only slight growth over the past year.

President Donald Trump's administration put the company on an export blacklist in 2019 and cut off its access to computer chip manufacturers in 2020.

"Huawei was confronted with some extraordinary difficulties," Mr Hu said.

The show also comes at a time that other attendees - including US chip designer Qualcomm - have warned they face-chip supply issues of their own because demand is outstripping supply.

But it is also an opportunity to show off innovations.