TAIPEI, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Imagine controlling a computer from afar with gestures, by simply wearing a watch-like device on your wrist. This cool sci-fi gadget, developed by a Taiwanese startup, will be on display at a landmark import expo next week.
As many as 72 Taiwan-based companies in electronics, smart technology, medical equipment, food and services will be attending the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's first national-level import expo, starting Monday in Shanghai.
Companies from Taiwan said they are expecting to seize this opportunity to connect with more customers and explore a broader market.
Noel Chang, vice president of Prince Group Auto21, the parent company of gesture control technology startup CoolSo, said they have sent more than 20 people to Shanghai for the expo, looking for cooperation with mainland companies.
"The expo is a signal by the mainland to open its market further to the world," Chang said.
Chang believes the company's gesture control wearable products will have great potential in the mainland gaming industry. "We should seize the opportunity of the consumption upgrade and high-quality development happening in the mainland, and take one step further into the market with the help of the CIIE."
For some companies, the expo is also a great place for presenting themselves in front of a global audience. "We will bring seven kinds of testing equipment for semiconductor advanced packaging, all in one go," said Shang-Shu Chen, head of Taiwan-based Ta Liang Technology Co. Ltd.
Chen said the company hopes to use the CIIE platform to deepen ties with their mainland customers and partners, find more potential ones, and show the whole world what they have to offer.
The import expo comes as the mainland moves to open up domestic markets wider to the world in the year that marks the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening-up policy.
The mainland and Taiwan are closely connected in terms of trade. Data from the island's finance authority shows that Taiwan's exports to the mainland and Hong Kong expanded 10.5 percent year on year in the first three quarters.
"Industrial cooperation is key in facilitating integrated development across the Taiwan Strait," said Li-An Chin, who will bring his company Hong Shi's cultural and creative products to the CIIE.
Taiwanese companies' active participation in the expo will deepen industrial cooperation, create more opportunities for the island's companies, and inject "positive energy" into cross-Strait relations, said Chin.
