People view an unmanned vehicle during the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) at Shougang Park in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2023.(Photo: Xinhua)

New products and solutions involving digital technologies in the medical, sports, agriculture, tourism, culture and other industries were displayed at the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), showcasing the country's industrial and consumption upgrading, for which digital technologies and innovation are providing the backbone. 

Express companies demonstrated intelligent unmanned logistics delivery vehicles to the Global Times. In addition, new products such as VR driving schools, smart medical detection systems, AI football training solutions and ultrasonic induction smart bracelets for the visually impaired also appeared at the services trade fair.

"We are now providing energy-saving solutions to our customers, transforming from a pure manufacturer to a services provider," a manager surnamed Cao of JA Solar Technology Co told the Global Times on the sidelines of the CIFTIS.

The transformation, or industrial upgrading, is being powered by digital and intelligent technologies. For example, AI technology helps monitor and calculate electricity usage so that the company can better provide energy supply solutions, said Cao. 

According to the manager, JA Solar Technology has about 16 percent of the photovoltaic panel market in Europe.

TalentCloud, a Guangxi-based smart agriculture solutions provider, told the Global Times that their intelligent agricultural garden patrol robot can stop to take photos, identify whether fruit is ripe and assess the situation of diseases and pests affecting crops. 

"The robot will then analyze and send a report on how much pesticide should be applied and how to provide water and fertilizer, which can reduce labor costs and save energy," a staffer at TalentCloud said.

Digital technologies and innovation have not only boosted industrial upgrading, but also created new forms of consumption.

For example, the sports service special exhibition area of CIFTIS showed the indoor smart gym and AI football training solution. With an intelligent screen or VR glasses, people feel as if they actually came to the gym or the football field, with coaches who guide them at the same time.

"Doing sports at home has become a new source of demand from customers. This demand has led to new products, and new products provided people with more choices," an exhibitor surnamed Wang told the Global Times.

Digital technology is reconstructing the traditional industrial chain, value chain and supply chain, and it has also injected strong new impetus into the development of trade in services, companies told the Global Times at CIFTIS. 

Accelerating digital transformation and vigorously developing digital trade in goods and services have become "golden keys" for countries around the world to grasp the opportunities of the digital age and cope with economic uncertainties, companies said.

Benefitting from fast-developing digital technologies and innovations, China's total trade in services grew 8.1 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2023, totaling 3.67 trillion yuan ($502 billion), according to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce.

Since its accession to the WTO in 2001, China's share of global trade in services has increased from 2.4 percent to the current 6.5 percent. China is the world's fourth-largest exporter of services and the second-largest importer of services, and is becoming the world's services supply and demand center, official data showed.