In a one-person company based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Zhang Qianchao, in his 20s, turned a Norwegian buyer's request for FIFA World Cup-themed baseball caps into nine original designs in just 10 minutes. The buyer soon approved them and placed a sample order.

The designs were not created by a professional designer, but by Zhang's AI employees, powered by Accio Work, developed by Chinese tech company Alibaba.

Earlier this year, Zhang started a customized baseball-cap business on Alibaba.com. He had no designers or sales team. Instead, he built eight AI agents on Accio Work to handle tasks ranging from market research and product development to design, policy analysis and business reviews. Together, the AI agents have allowed Zhang to develop more than 200 types of cap products and make his way into the global market.

Accio Work, an AI agent platform designed for enterprises that was launched in March, was among the Chinese services and products showcased at the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS). Themed Global Services, Shared Prosperity, the CIFTIS, held in Beijing on September 9-13, attracted participants from 90 countries, regions and international organizations—more than 1,800 companies in total.

The fair showcased new technologies, solutions and achievements in services trade, including information and communication, fintech, digital and intelligent healthcare and smart education. The CIFTIS set up an overseas expansion services roadshow area for the first time this year, as Chinese companies increasingly take their technology, supply chain expertise and advanced services to international markets.

China has posted rapid growth in services trade, with strong exports of knowledge-intensive services supported by the country's intellectual property and innovation ecosystem, Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, said in his video address to a summit during the fair.

A report released at the CIFTIS on September 9 highlighted the growing influence of China's services brands. China ranks second globally with 21 brands among the world's 100 most valuable trade-in-services brands, with a combined worth of $876.8 billion, it said.

Sailing to the world

Chinese service providers are helping local companies expand internationally, particularly with the rise of AI.

Today, more than 10 million small and medium-sized businesses worldwide are using Accio Work.

As AI agents are widely applied in cross-border commerce, the business-to-business trade model could evolve toward an agent-to-agent model, making global trade more efficient and accessible for small businesses, according to Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, the business unit responsible for all of Alibaba's overseas retail and wholesale operations.

For Chinese e-commerce enterprise JD.com, which has attended the event for seven consecutive years, this year's focus was on taking Chinese services global through technologies.

At the CIFTIS, JD.com showcased services covering the full chain of overseas operations. JD International's European online retail brand Joybuy now covers countries including Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium through its self-built logistics network. The company's logistics branch has launched over 200 overseas warehouses in 26 countries and regions.

JD Industrials is leveraging AI to transform industrial supply chains for domestic companies. Powered by AI agents, it is expanding services to carbon footprint management and green compliance in overseas markets. Its international operations now span eight countries, including Thailand, Indonesia and Brazil, supporting more than 100 major Chinese companies in their global expansion, the company shared during the event.

Technologies are also empowering China's sports services to expand their overseas presence. The booth of Rigour Technology, a Beijing-based company specializing in sports AI, attracted many visitors at the CIFTIS to try their hands at its Table Tennis Review system, which uses computer vision to reconstruct ball trajectories in real time and assist with officiating.

Founded in 2011, Rigour began as a small startup focused on computer vision. After two years of development, it launched its own snooker review system, which was used at the China Open in 2013.

In 2015, Rigour's technology was applied at major events including the World Snooker Championship in the United Kingdom. It later expanded into volleyball, tennis and table tennis, working with the International Table Tennis Federation to develop technical standards and upgrade officiating systems used at world championships and major international tournaments.

According to a report released during this year's CIFTIS, China's sports services export surged from 1.675 billion yuan ($250 million) in 2024 to 19.033 billion yuan ($2.84 billion) in 2025, with the share in the year's total trade moving up from 2.42 percent to 25.42 percent.

Soft power

At a roadshow held during the event, Jiayuan Digital Technology Co., based in Gansu Province, showcased its efforts to take Chinese games global. The company has spent a decade developing a 3D martial arts game inspired by the ancient Silk Road. After launching on game platform Steam, the game topped the global sales chart for three consecutive days and attracted more than 10,000 player reviews.

Jin Jun, the company's General Manager, told Beijing Review that it has combined Silk Road heritage and landscapes in northwest China with the globally familiar storytelling and gameplay of martial arts. "To better promote Chinese culture overseas, we need to first learn about foreign cultures and customs and make localized adaptation to make the landing soft," Jin added.

COL Group, a Chinese digital publisher, also showcased how its products, namely, micro-dramas, are going global at the CIFTIS. Its overseas micro-drama platforms localize modes developed in China's web literature market, adapting them to foreign settings and casting local actors.

According to the company, its overseas platform FlareFlow has been downloaded more than 52 million times since its launch more than a year ago, with monthly revenue reaching around $10 million.

Today, the company is integrating contents with AI technologies to develop a more sophisticated platform. It now produces over 3,000 short dramas annually for both domestic and overseas markets, with more than 100 AI-produced overseas micro-dramas each month.

Chinese designer toy brands are also gaining a growing international presence. At the CIFTIS, Chinese designer toy brand Pop Mart showcased its SPACE MOLLY Cloisonné, a collaboration inspired by cloisonné craftsmanship, which is categorized as national-level intangible cultural heritage in China. The figure's astronaut suit integrates the traditional Chinese celestial stems and earthly branches with constellations.

According to the brand, it has explored new ways to revitalize traditional culture and bring it to global audiences, making it part of everyday life through collaborations with trendy toy IPs. Instead of fast expansion overseas, it now centers on building local teams and improving operation and logistic systems.

Since launching its international business in 2017, another designer toy maker, 52TOYS, has expanded into more than 60 countries and regions, with a focus on markets in the Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe. Overseas revenue of 52TOYS accounted for 23.4 percent of its total revenue in 2024, the company said.

According to global financial institution Goldman Sachs, China's share of the global designer toy market rose from 3 percent in 2020 to 18 percent in 2025. BR

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon 

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