Hangzhou's Rokid glasses to be official gift at China-ASEAN Expo

Leading smart glasses maker Rokid — based in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province — recently received major recognition.

On Sept 10 it saw its AI-powered wearable selected as the only tech product among the official VIP gifts of the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The expo is being held at the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center in Nanning from Sept 17 to Sept 21.

Traditionally dominated by handicrafts, the expo's gift list now embraces the integration of tech and culture, marking the first time Chinese smart hardware has joined this platform for international cultural exchanges.

Rokid glasses, optimized for multilingual environments, support real-time translations across 12 ASEAN languages including Thai and Indonesian, offering new tools for regional communications.

An emerging tech start-up based in Hangzhou, Rokid has gained recognition for its advanced diffraction waveguide display, proprietary operating system and AI-driven features such as live transcriptions, instant translations, navigation and video capture.

At a news conference, the glasses were presented in a lacquerware gift set entitled Biennium Waves, featuring traditional Chinese craftsmanship and gold-leaf artistry — symbolizing cultural depth alongside cutting-edge innovation.

The selection highlights China's growing confidence in intelligent manufacturing and signals a new role for tech products in cultural diplomacy.