CES will be walking a ‘tightrope’ with China’s big return in 2024

Chinese companies will be “back bigger” at the Consumer Electronic Show in January, according to the head of the organization that puts on the event, ending a two-year, pandemic-related reduced presence from the massive tech event.

But with heightened tensions between the U.S. and China and more intense competition in fields like chips and AI, “it is … a bit of a tightrope, I’m not going to lie,” for the Consumer Technology Association, president and CEO Gary Shapiro told reporters during an event Tuesday previewing CES 2024, which runs from Jan. 9-12 in Las Vegas.

Shapiro said CES welcomes China’s business presence at the trade show, but he also voiced concerns about what he described as a “very insular” country under the current leadership.

“We had a show there, we had an office there, we had people that lived there,” Shapiro said. “We’ve closed it down.”

AI-related products will be everywhere at CES. Tech companies have been using artificial intelligence for years, but the explosion of generative AI in the past year has made the tech more consumer-facing than ever.

Other big themes will include sustainability, accessibility, and health tech, CTA officials said.