China smart home appliances expand overseas markets.

　　South African employees debug the prototype of Hisense household appliances to be put into local stores.

　　Photo by Li Yindan

　　Thai employees operate in Haier air conditioning production line.

　　Photo by Chen Ai

　　Workers work in the workshop of Shaanxi Konka Smart Home Appliances Co., Ltd. located in Xi ‘an International Port Area.

　　Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Bowen photo

　　At the 2023 Sao Paulo International Consumer Electronics and Household Appliances Exhibition, visitors took a group photo in front of TCL booth.

　　Our reporter Shi Yuanzhang photo

　　During the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in Berlin, visitors learned about smart kitchen equipment in front of the casarte booth.

　　Our reporter Li Qiang photo

　　With the continuous optimization and upgrading of China’s manufacturing industry, China’s household appliances are going to the world with the image of "China Zhizao". With the advantages of quality and innovation, China brand smart home appliances are popular overseas, allowing more families to enjoy the convenient life brought by scientific and technological progress. At the same time, some home appliance enterprises in China set up overseas production bases and supporting industrial chains to help local industries upgrade, create jobs and promote economic and social development.

　　"Bring a new smart home experience"

　　Market research institutions predict that the global smart home equipment market will continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.2% in the next few years. With the concept of smart home being deeply rooted in people’s hearts all over the world, more and more China brand smart home appliances have brought novel and convenient experiences to overseas consumers.

　　Vanessa, from South Africa, is very satisfied with the "new members" in her family. Not only can she regularly remind her family of the expiration date of food and recommend hundreds of recipes, but she will also inform her husband of the ingredients she needs to buy that day by SMS, and play her favorite video program … … This "new member" is the smart refrigerator launched by Hisense South Africa last year. Vanessa affectionately called it "beautiful sister". "It has become an important member of our kitchen, not only because of its beauty, but also because of its intelligence."

　　An important reason why Io, a citizen of Bangkok, Thailand, chose China brand smart home appliances is that these products are "full of humanized details". Haier washing machine in his home not only has low noise, but also has a variety of washing functions to choose from, which can meet the cleaning needs of different clothes. "I often use the 15-minute quick wash mode, which is very practical in summer." Io introduced that this washing machine is equipped with AI intelligent washing function, which can automatically detect the weight and material of clothes, and select the optimal washing mode, which can be remotely controlled through mobile phone application.

　　"Turn the air conditioner to 23 degrees Celsius and turn on the TV to play today’s football match … …” Recently, at the Consumer Electronics Show held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Fernando, who made a special trip to visit TCL booth, took the initiative to demonstrate the brand products to reporters. "With simple voice commands, the TV at home can switch between different usage scenarios, whether it is work, fitness or games, which brings me a new smart home experience." Fernando said that his TV, air conditioner and mobile phone are all made in China, and he plans to buy more smart home appliances in the future to build his own smart home.

　　In addition, a series of China-branded smart home appliances, such as intelligent door locks with visual intercom, sweeping robots that can patrol automatically, and intelligent cooking machines that can automatically add ingredients, have all accelerated to go abroad and "circle" overseas consumers. Whether on the scene of national economic and trade cooperation platforms such as China Import and Export Fair or overseas online and offline channels, the attention of China brand smart home appliances is constantly increasing.

　　"Attracting users with innovative scientific and technological strength"

　　Data show that in the first half of this year, the number of household appliances exported by China exceeded 1.7 billion units, up 1.4% year-on-year, and the export value was 296.7 billion yuan, up 5.2% year-on-year. Superior intelligent experience is one of the important reasons for the contrarian growth of China’s home appliance exports.

　　"Focus on R&D, advanced technology and perfect supply chain, so that China brand smart home appliances can become quality products that can provide innovative technologies." Philip Faye, vice president of TCL Brazil, said that China smart home appliance brands have continuously increased their investment in technology research and development in recent years. TCL alone has 43 research and development centers and 32 manufacturing bases around the world, and is committed to developing and manufacturing new products suitable for different markets.

　　Thailand is located in the tropics, and it needs air conditioning for refrigeration or dehumidification almost all year round. However, the humid environment makes it easy to breed mold inside the air conditioner, so many local users should regularly ask professionals to carry out in-depth cleaning. In order to solve this problem, Haier Electric (Thailand) Co., Ltd. successfully listed self-cleaning air conditioners in Thailand. By using self-cleaning technology, the dust, dirt and mold on the evaporator of the air conditioner were stripped to keep the inside of the air conditioner clean and bring health and convenience to users. After continuous updating iteration, today’s Haier air conditioner not only supports self-cleaning, but also supports UV sterilization and other functions, which fully meets the needs of local consumers. "Haier is guided by the needs of local users and based on existing technologies, constantly increasing research and development efforts and launching innovative products." Wang Quanshui, manager of the R&D department of Haier Thailand Air Conditioning Factory, said that in the past five years, Haier’s sales in Thailand have nearly tripled, ranking first in the overall air conditioning market.

　　The "Life Link" intelligent control platform independently developed by Hisense and first listed in South Africa provides users with more intelligent, convenient and energy-saving home appliances and solutions by integrating artificial intelligence and Internet of Things and other related technologies. Users can remotely control and adjust home appliance settings through smart terminals such as mobile phones, tablet computers and large screens of Hisense smart refrigerators. Macro, the sales manager of South Africa’s large supermarket chain, told reporters that Hisense and other China-branded smart home appliances are gaining favor from more and more South African consumers because of their convenient use.

　　"The increasingly rich automation function of home appliances is changing consumers’ preferences. Consumers’ demand for home appliances is not only a single-purpose electrical product, but a multi-purpose, convenient, energy-saving and environmentally friendly smart device." Xia Huasheng, an associate professor of international finance at Vargas Foundation University in Brazil, told reporters that the continuous improvement of the technological content and industrial level of "China Zhizhi" will further enhance the competitiveness of smart home appliances in China. "China smart home appliances attract users with innovative technological strength, and the future ‘ Go to sea ’ The prospects are infinitely broad. "

　　"Actively share advanced technology and experience with local people"

　　Industrial supply is the key to promote the consumption of smart home appliances. In addition to the conventional export of finished products, China smart home appliance brands set up overseas production bases and supporting industrial chains, or accelerate the global industrial layout by acquiring foreign brands, thus contributing to local industrial upgrading and employment expansion.

　　In 2013, Hisense Group and china-africa development fund jointly invested 350 million rand (US$ 1 is equivalent to 19 rand) to establish Hisense South Africa Industrial Park in the north of Cape Town. Through the career counseling program, about 70% of the management positions in the industrial park are held by local employees, and more than 5,000 employment opportunities have been created for supporting industries such as logistics, recycling, security and cleaning. "Now the skills of young people in the factory are getting better and better!" According to Poole, director of the refrigerator production line in the industrial park, China enterprises attach great importance to personnel training and improve the overall local labor skills.

　　Midea’s Egyptian dishwasher factory is the first dishwasher factory in North Africa and the Middle East that uses modern advanced production technology. "The factory has realized the integration and comprehensive application of digitalization, automation and other technologies, and used these new technologies to realize all-round changes in business model, product research and development model, production model, quality management model and consumer service model, and promote efficiency improvement, energy conservation and emission reduction and business optimization." Chen Weiwei, the person in charge of the factory, said that the factory is committed to promoting the localization of R&D, manufacturing and talents, and has provided about 1,500 jobs for the local area. "The factory actively shares advanced technology and experience with the local area, continuously improves the local manufacturing capability, and the localization ratio of parts and components has reached 60%." In March this year, Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouli said that the factory promoted the localization of modern industries in Egypt and played an important role in promoting local economy and employment.

　　Haier set up a factory in Thailand in 2007, which has developed into a manufacturing center with an annual output of one million units, integrating R&D, manufacturing and export, and its production capacity advantage is constantly expanding. The factory has more than 2,500 employees and many production lines such as refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners. Its products not only serve local users in Thailand, but also are exported to Europe, South America and the Middle East. Employee Salmon has been working in the factory for many years. He told reporters: "I have witnessed the development and changes of the increasing number of employees in the factory and the gradual expansion of the product assembly line. I am very grateful to Haier for providing us with job opportunities. The home appliances in our home are all Haier’s, which is both safe and proud to use. "