A 5G police robot patrols during the Light of Internet Expo in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang province, Oct 18, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Expectations for the upcoming World Internet Conference are heightening as both overseas and domestic participating companies see it providing access to business inspirations and deals.

For leading cybersecurity company Kaspersky, the global event is a rare opportunity to get access to China's growing industrial internet of things market.

"We heard that a concentrated group of industry experts and practitioners will come to this conference and we are excited about them sharing the latest trends, opportunities and challenges, and showcasing some of their best products and practices in the area of industrial IoT. It will be a great opportunity to expand our network and we look forward to meeting with potential new partners and strengthening relations with our current clients," said Zheng Qiliang, general manager for China at Kaspersky.

With industrial IoT－internet applications to the operation of industrial equipment for a connected network－becoming more advanced in China, Kaspersky thinks there is great market potential in developing related cybersecurity products.

"For this year's event, we will continue focusing on discussions in this area, and Kaspersky is stepping up efforts on developing new systems to battle cybersecurity risks," he added.

The company showcased its newly developed system Kaspersky OS at a recent exposition in Tianjin. The system is said to prevent risks in the infrastructure, manufacturing and healthcare industries.

Zheng said a big challenge for the industry today is to develop products to prevent cybersecurity risks relating to infrastructure, such as railways and electric power plants, as attacks can cost billions of dollars.

"The market in that area is huge and we are expecting more discussions during the upcoming World Internet Conference," Zheng said.

Kaspersky also expects to see more measures being brought up by government officials to improve the business environment to further support the company's development in China, according to Zheng.

"We have participated in this global event for five consecutive years. Those past experiences have inspired us on many concepts of our most cutting-edge technologies and products," he added.

During last year's World Internet Conference, Kaspersky signed numerous deals with Chinese companies including China Electronics Technology Cyber Security Co Ltd.

"China has been our most important market and we are expecting more business opportunities to be discovered during this global internet conference," said Anton Shingarev, vice-president of public affairs at Kaspersky.

This year's conference will hold sub-conferences on cybersecurity and industrial IoT on Oct 21 and has also attracted local industry giants like NSFocus Security Labs.

For China's robot company Shanghai Xiao-i Robot Technology Co Ltd, this year's World Internet Conference provides a great platform to expand its network with potential partners and clients on a global scale.

"As one of China's leading companies in the area of artificial intelligence, we are eyeing increasing presence in the global AI community and we consider the conference as an important opportunity," said Xu Yiya, senior vice-president of Xiao-i.

"The conference will exhibit some most cutting-edge technologies and products to participants from around the world, and that may open doors for future business deals in areas of telecommunications, big data, AI hardware," she said.

The robot company will also attend the sub-conference on AI on Oct 21.

"We believe the discussions at the AI sub-conference will offer rare chances to dive into solutions to issues that have been impacting the AI industry and those that are relevant to its future. That will be an important inspiration for our company's long-term development," Xu said.