BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 3 -- After a three-year absence because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese tech companies were celebrating the chance to return to Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the world's leading audiovisual (AV) systems integration show held here between Jan. 31 and Feb. 3.

The event attracted over 1,000 exhibitors and an estimated 52,000 visitors from around the world, 10,000 more than last year.

The exhibitors showcased the latest technological innovations in the AV sector, such as 8K LED screens, virtual reality, digital immersion and 3D video projections.

"I didn't imagine that so many people would come here," Lesley Dong, marketing manager for Ledman, a leading LED display manufacturer based in south China's Guangdong province, told Xinhua, adding "we have lots of customers and we just can't wait to present our products."

Lesley said that her company attended the fair because "we think that an exhibition like this is the best way to make contacts and talk face-to-face with our customers," while saving "time and energy" spent on emails and phone calls.

Felix Wang, manager at touch screen technology company Micron based in Shenzhen of Guangdong province, agreed, saying "we like to go abroad to major events to show off our products and to introduce ourselves to foreign customers."

Over a hundred Chinese companies took part in the trade fair this year and more than 30 Chinese firms had exhibitor's booths, according to the ISE.

"We concentrate on exports. This is why we have to come to overseas exhibitions," Sawyer Xu, general manager at the Shenzhen Besdled company, which produces high-end LED screens, told Xinhua.

"I believe that next year more and more Chinese manufacturers will travel to do business all over the world," he said.

According to the ISE, Chinese firms usually make up 15 percent of all LED screen exhibitors, half of this number attended this year's fair. Many Chinese companies had already confirmed their attendance at the show's next edition.

"We see so much innovation in our industry coming from China -- microLED, transparent LED. Usually, this hall is full of Chinese companies showing different LED solutions for digital signage, digital out-of-home advertising," Mike Blackman, managing director of the ISE, told Xinhua, adding "we know they're coming back next year, and they've already been in touch."

Chinese tech companies are "very important" in the Asian audiovisual market, Blackman said. His organization estimates that the growing global AV market is already worth 260 billion euros (283 billion U.S. dollars) a year. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollar)

  - Xinhua