Chinese Exhibitors at CES 2025: A Sign of Easing Tech Tensions?

At CES 2025, 1,300 Chinese companies made a significant comeback, demonstrating their resilience amid ongoing US-China tensions and technological challenges.

Significant Return of Chinese Companies to CES

The renowned CES (Consumer Electronics Show) kicks off this Tuesday in Las Vegas. Despite ongoing tech tensions between Beijing and Washington, the event sees a rebound in Chinese exhibitors. The event’s website reports that over 1,300 Chinese companies – including 1,212 from mainland China and 98 from Hong Kong – are set to unveil their latest innovations at this major expo organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

Increased Yet Still Reduced Chinese Presence

These Chinese enterprises account for over a quarter of the 4,500 registered exhibitors, making China the largest foreign participant this year. This marks a notable increase from the 1,115 Chinese companies at CES in 2024 and even more so from the 493 in 2023, when Covid-19 restrictions hampered international travel. However, this year’s figures are still below the record high of 1,551 Chinese exhibitors in 2018, who then made up over a third of the participants.

Notable Absence of Tech Giants

However, this edition will not see participation from ByteDance, which registered last year through its U.S. office, although its subsidiary TikTok is still present. Also missing are major names from previous years like Baidu and Huawei, which faces U.S. sanctions, as well as drone maker DJI, listed on the Pentagon’s blacklist since 2021.

Sino-American Tensions Cast a Shadow

The Chinese participation at CES only highlights the escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced it was considering a rule to cut China off from the drone supply chain. Despite these frictions, Alibaba has maintained its presence through its cloud computing and AI branch, Alibaba Cloud.