China is increasing its efforts to build up awareness of its own brands. The country has made May 10th the Chinese Brands Day. This year, the day saw the first Chinese brands exposition taking place in Shanghai. Hundreds of well-known Chinese companies took part in the event. Our reporter Hu Chao takes a look.

A day to celebrate Chinese brands. The first Chinese Indigenous Exposition got underway in Shanghai on Thursday morning. Around six hundred Chinese companies and more than a thousand guests gathered in the Shanghai Exposition Center for the event.

Several major state-owned groups set up their booths in the central exhibition hall. They included representatives from the industries of aerospace technology, mobile communications and high-speed train manufacture.

An international forum on China brand development was also held on Thursday. Zhang Shuting from the Communications University of China was there. He says while some Chinese brands have developed rapidly in recent years, many still face serious challenges.

ZHANG SHUTING, DIR. OF BUSINESS BRAND INSTITUTE COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF CHINA "China now has many prestigious brands with very good products, including home appliances and some high-end manufacturers. But many companies still seek quick success, which leads to a lack of integrity and innovation. Tackling these problems needs joint efforts from the government and companies, as well as the consumers."

Director Zhang also believes the recent ZTE case can actually encourage for domestic companies to focus on technological innovation.

ZHANG SHUTING, DIR. OF BUSINESS BRAND INSTITUTE COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF CHINA "The recent China-US trade frictions, especially the ZTE case, provided us with the chance to reflect on ourselves. It made us realize that Chinese companies should master the core technologies instead of being dependent on foreign technology. At the end of the day, technological innovation lays the foundation of brand building."

The Shanghai exposition will last for three days and is open to the public for free.

HU CHAO SHANGHAI EXPOSITION CENTER "Since last year, May 10th has become a day in China to celebrate the country's own brands. This means that China has started to focus more on improving the quality and branding of its products. And eventually, just as the theme of this exposition says, China hopes to share more of its products with the world. Hu Chao, CGTN, Shanghai."