A group of customers gathers around an automated shop at China’s largest trade fair, eagerly watching as a pair of robotic hands fix a latte.
More than its creators had anticipated, the robotic cafe has already received orders totaling 8 million yuan ( RM4.82 million or US$ 1.1 million ) during the first two days of the Canton Fair in Guangzhou.
” To our amazement, the buyer enthralling this year has been overwhelming,” said Han Zhaolin, the leader of Dolphin Robot Technology. ” Clients from Vietnam to the Middle East demonstrated a strong willingness to make a purchase on-site.”
Han’s team had no idea how the growing US-China trade conflict, which has seen both sides increase tariffs on each other’s products by around 12 %, would impact sales. He ultimately had nothing to fret about.
The mechanical shop from the fifth generation, which has nearly 100 inventions, is unaffected by Han’s claim, Han said. In light of rising US jobs, the company has been able to remain resilient.
Because of US customers ‘ stringent demands, he said,” We aren’t bearing the tariff, nor are we lowering our prices.” Everything else compares to the goods produced in the US, Germany, or Japan, and North Korean goods cost half as much.
Han’s encounter reflects a wider trend at play at the Canton Fair: a wide range of Chinese-made intelligent products have proven extremely resistant to the effects of the trade war, from bionic limbs to skyscraper-cleaning robots to robotic limbs.
In many cases, the system’s main elements are all directly produced, indicating they are exempt from import duties. They also tend to be much less expensive than their adversary products in Europe and America, and they developed much more quickly, keeping them competitive even in the face of sky-high taxes.
Zhejiang Qiangnao Technology is in a position like this. Despite the current tensions, it is moving forward with releasing its artificial legs and hands, which are controlled by algorithms developed using brain-computer software research.
According to a company representative, Pan Siyu, the company’s smart prosthetic legs have now received health system accreditation from the US Food and Drug Administration and are covered by US health insurance.
They are priced at US$ 50, 000 ( RM219, 275 ), and they continue to be competitive in the market at the current tariff level, Pan said. However, that might change if the US were to increase levies even higher.
The bright artificial legs and hands of our company just cost one-fifth to one-seventh as much as American goods, she said. ” It all depends on the taxes ‘ goings’… US regulations alter often. We didn’t foresee how our goods may be classified in the future.
A Guangzhou-based company named Lindu Intelligent Tech Development won the” Best of the Best” award at this year’s Canton Fair Design Awards.
The machine is a self-developed and eminently special system, like many of the 90, 000 intelligent products exhibited at the exhibition. It is non-invasive, can be used to clear skyscrapers up to 500 meters high, and can be firmly attached to cup curtain walls even in a force-12 hurricane.
” There are very few competitors in the market,” said Chen Sihong, a sales director at Lingdu. Various products can just reach about 60 meters and also require additional liquid pipes and wires.
Exports account for up to 80 % of Lingdu’s total revenue, with exports now accounting for more than 20 countries. According to Chen, Middle Eastern buyers have shown a strong curiosity in the Canton Fair.
Cleaning solutions are costly in foreign nations. He claimed that using our robot to clean a building’s exterior wall costs only 2 yuan ( RM1.20 or US$ 0.27 ) per square meter.
” With the exception of one or two properties cleaned, the expense will be paid off. Additionally, the machine has a duration of up to eight times and can perform 24/7.
Chen did not directly address the impact of US taxes on the company’s profits, but he argued that Chinese tech goods ‘ cost advantages and swift development would become even more obvious over time.
The automated cafe operated by Dolphin Robot, which occupies only 2.5 square meters of floor space, can make more than 50 different beverages, including coffee, milk, tea, matcha, and chocolate beverages. Each cup can be customized according to size, strength, temperature, sweetness, and ice level in only 50 seconds.
According to Han, the system’s low operating cost is a major plus for Western buyers.
He claimed that a single smartphone can control the entire robot cafe remotely. It can self-repair 90 % of malfunctions, run continuously for ten years without hiring anyone, and cost less than 5, 000 yuan ( RM3, 010 ) per year in terms of electricity.
” In contrast, a typical US cafe pays more than 10,000 yuan ( RM6, 020 ) per month for electricity,” the article states.
In some ways, Han added, the trade war may even offer the company an opportunity.
He continued,” It’s not a bad thing.” It increases the interest and willingness of many foreigners to try China’s newest tech product line. That’s one of my biggest takeaways from the Canton Fair this year, according to the South China Morning Post.