US tech companies eye closer cooperation with China

LOS ANGELES -- At the just-concluded 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, many US tech companies have expressed their hopes for closer exchanges and cooperation with China despite bilateral trade tensions.

Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon told Xinhua he is "super excited" about Qualcomm's business in China, and applauded the win-win cooperation between Qualcomm and its Chinese partners, such as Xiaomi, OPPO, OnePlus and vivo.

Amon called the cooperation an example of successful relationship between the two countries, adding that it allows Chinese partners to not only grow in domestic consumption, but also expand outside China.

"We are not backing down on our China cooperation. We're increasing our cooperation in resources towards or partnerships in China in the 5G transition," he said.

Ford Motor also plans to step up its business in China. The company's new all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV, will be on show in the Chinese market in April this year, and be available in the Chinese market next year, according to the company.

Amy Huo, vice president of communications at Ford Motor Greater China, told Xinhua China has attached great importance to technology innovation and new energy development, which are highly compatible with Ford's strategy emphasis in the technologies such as electric vehicles and internet of cars.

"Ford plans to further enhance cooperation with China in the five years to come, explore local strategic partners for joint innovation," she said.

Some tech companies value China's huge market, manufacturing and labor costs, while some others value China's innovation technologies, and its geological location which can be considered as a logistics hub towards southeast Asian countries.

Josh Cross, founder and CEO of American power and tracking technology company Elios, told Xinhua the company's cooperation with China dates back to 2015. Elios' software design is done in the United States and the hardware part is done in China.

Currently it is cooperating with three Chinese companies in GPS products, power and GPS products, and sourcing, Cross said.

China has very good infrastructure, years of experience and high efficiency, he said, adding Elios expects to cooperate with more Chinese partners in the near future.

The 2020 CES, the world's premier tech show, was held in Las Vegas from Tuesday to Friday. The four-day show drew more than 4,500 exhibitors from over 160 countries.

Nearly 20,000 new transformative tech products were on show, encompassing 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, smart cities and resilience, sports, robotics and more.