US visa denials cast a shadow over Hong Kong’s largest-ever delegation to CES
Hong Kong’s CES delegation includes start-ups from fields of health tech, artificial intelligence and new materials
Hong Kong has brought its largest delegation ever to the US consumer electronics trade show CES as it strives to become a global technology hub, but US visa denials and the abruptly cancelled attendance of the city’s technology chief have cast a shadow over its efforts.
Some employees at exhibiting Hong Kong firms did not make it to CES in Las Vegas because of visa rejections, many of whom had experience working at Chinese tech companies that were blacklisted by the US government such as Huawei Technologies and SenseTime, participants at the annual trade show said.
“A lot of people are not here today actually,” said a staff member at one of the Hong Kong start-ups exhibiting at CES 2026. “A lot of people are one-man shows.”
Some also experienced tighter visa scrutiny and longer application times than previous years, according to another staff member of one of the Hong Kong exhibitors.
Even so, Hong Kong’s presence at CES was larger than in previous years, with 61 companies, including 47 from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), “all here”, said HKSTP CEO Terry Wong.
The city’s endeavours at CES this year were also clouded by the sudden cancellation of a planned trip by Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong.