The Organizing Committee of the Global Digital Trade Expo
HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 5th Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) kicks off today in east China's Hangzhou City. As China's sole national-level international professional exhibition themed on digital trade, the five-day-long expo puts artificial intelligence center-stage under the theme "Meet the AI Future at GDTE."
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Across its 170,000-square-metre exhibition halls, the event links technological innovation, business matchmaking and international cooperation, mirroring the robust global expansion momentum of Hangzhou's AI industry.
Stepping into the sprawling venue, visitors are greeted with a strong sense of the future. The specially built Token Zone lays out a full-fledged innovation chain covering computing-power infrastructure, large language models, and industry-specific real-world applications. More than 200 AI large models are on collective display. Cutting-edge achievements such as brain-computer interfaces and embodied intelligence, once confined to research papers, are now demonstrated live for the general public.
Attendees may stop to observe how brain-computer devices rebuild bridges for people with disabilities to perceive the world. They can sit through simulated consultations powered by a traditional Chinese medicine large-model system, or get hands-on experience with service robots and smart wearable devices to see how technology transforms daily life. The Global Open-source AI Challenge and the Global Digital Trade Innovation Competition, which focuses on embodied intelligence robots, run concurrently. Developers from across the globe compete and exchange ideas, turning conceptual creativity into practical, real-world solutions.
Openness and connectivity lie at the very heart of the GDTE. Malaysia and Hungary serve as this edition's Guest Countries of Honour, with overseas exhibition groups larger than in previous years. Representatives from 121 countries and regions as well as 29 international organizations gather at the event.
Signature sessions including the Silk Road E-Commerce Day, the BRICS Special Economic Zones Hangzhou Dialogue and Africa Digital Trade Day are held successively. Participants sit together to exchange insights and advance pragmatic collaboration on Silk-Road-themed e-commerce, cross-border data flows and green digital trade.
Working together with five leading international authoritative institutions, the expo compiles and releases its flagship report, Global Digital Trade Development Report 2026, alongside several high-profile industry publications. These documents deliver valuable observations and reflections for the fast-evolving global digital-trade landscape.
Nearly 40,000 professional buyers and sellers take part in the grand gathering, among whom over 12,000 are overseas delegates. More than 1,300 business-matching sessions are held in orderly fashion, with AI assistants facilitating precise matchmaking for business opportunities.
Beyond the short-term offline exhibition, the upgraded Digital Trade Online platform creates a "never-ending digital-trade expo." It connects online cross-border-e-commerce platforms with offline specialized markets, extending trade engagement throughout the full pre-, during- and post-event cycle. Ticket interoperability has been realized between the GDTE, the APSARA Conference and the West Lake Conference, enabling mutual empowerment and amplifying the event's outreach.
Coinciding with the Mid-Autumn Festival, the expo also transforms into a lively digital carnival steeped in everyday charm. One hundred AI application scenarios, 100 premium digital-trade products and 100 consumer-experience spots are scattered across the venue.
An 800-meter-long bazaar brims with a rich array of exotic goods from around the world. Supporting services such as streamlined entry procedures and one-stop tax-refund processing for departing visitors are fully available. Guests from afar can fully immerse themselves in cutting-edge technology while strolling at leisure to savour the vivid delights of digital consumption.
The expo's vibrancy is rooted in Hangzhou's long-term industrial accumulation. The city is now home to 938 core-sector AI enterprises. In the first half of 2026, local core-AI-industry revenue reached 270.5 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 26%. Home-grown tech innovators are going global: dexterous humanoid robots are shipped worldwide, and rehabilitation exoskeletons cross oceans to help patients suffering from muscle weakness stand again. Cold hardware carries the warmth of human-centered care.
From January to July this year, exports by Hangzhou-based AI enterprises surged 156?% year-on-year. AI-related deals account for half of the intended-order agreements signed during this expo. The China headquarters of the Arab Federation for Digital Economy will settle in Hangzhou, building a collaborative platform for Chinese and foreign enterprises to pursue joint-technology research and co-create products, so digital innovations originating in the East can benefit broader global markets.
As the Qiantang River's mighty tides roll onward, digital trade has become an undeniable force driving global-economic growth. At this expo, AI is far more than eye-catching technology. It acts as a bond linking enterprises, connecting markets and benefiting ordinary people. Drawing participants worldwide to Hangzhou, the expo fosters technical exchanges and business negotiations to jointly explore an open, inclusive, win-win development path for the digital age.
Contact for media only: Contact person: Ms. Wang, Tel: 86-10-63074558
