Foreign visitors try out the a split-type modular flying car developed by Chinese electric vehicle maker XPENG, at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show on April 24, 2026. Photo: Li Hao/GT

　　At the Beijing Auto Show, which kicked off on Friday, the scene feels like a living snapshot of the global auto industry in motion. Between exhibition halls, clusters of people spill into the open space during brief pauses, with cups of coffee in hand, steamed buns in paper wrappers, and quick bites grabbed between meetings. Some foreign visitors were using chopsticks with practiced ease over bowls of noodles.

　　The atmosphere is filled with different languages, overlapping conversations, and distant announcements from inside the halls. Spanish dealers chat in quick bursts, German engineers compare notes while scrolling through phone screens filled with schematics, and Brazilian automakers gather in animated discussion just a few steps away.

　　Against this backdrop, more foreign executives take the stage inside the halls delivering remarks in Chinese, while Chinese automakers bring in dealers from around the world to fill the stands. The Beijing Auto Show, in this moment, functions less like a conventional exhibition and more like a dense, constantly moving meeting point for the global automotive industry — one where China"s auto sector increasingly sits at the center of attention.

　　The total exhibition area of the auto show reaches 380,000 square meters, bringing together nearly 1,000 automakers from 21 countries and regions. The event is expected to attract close to one million visitors, setting a new record for global auto shows and becoming the largest automotive industry gathering in the world, according to the event organizer.