The Trionda match ball made its China debut at CIIE months before taking center stage at the 2026 World Cup in North America, reflecting how the import expo has become part of Adidas’s product and innovation strategy.

Called Trionda, it combines a four-panel construction with a side-mounted chip system designed to track data in real time and improve the precision of the ball’s flight.

Trionda at the 8th CIIE. (Photo / Adidas)

Trionda Final launched. (Photo / Adidas)

Chinese audiences had already seen it. Adidas unveiled Trionda in China at its stand during the eighth CIIE in Shanghai in 2025. The company released Trionda Final in July 2026, the version created for the closing stages of the tournament.

For Adidas, which has attended the CIIE five times, the choice of venue was deliberate. The company also used the expo for the China debut of its home kits for national teams competing at the 2026 World Cup. The launches placed major global products before Chinese consumers at one of the country’s most prominent trade events.

The relationship has also worked in the other direction. Adidas has used feedback from Chinese consumers and athletes to adapt global technologies to local demand. Its CLIMACOOL cooling technology and ADIZERO racing shoes, for example, have been positioned for China’s fast-growing marathon market. The ADIZERO ADIOS PRO EVO 3, in particular, helped achieve the first-ever sub-two-hour finish in an official marathon.

China’s national wushu team members in uniforms developed by Adidas. (Photo / Adidas)

The company has expanded its local design capabilities through the Creation Center Shanghai. At the CIIE, it has displayed uniforms developed for China’s national women’s volleyball and national wushu teams, as well as China-created collections developed in collaboration with artists including Han Meilin.

That localization is increasingly visible in the products Adidas sells in the country. More than 65 percent are designed locally and more than 95 percent are made in China, according to the company. Adidas Greater China reported revenue of EUR1.14 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 17 percent from a year earlier, marking a 12th consecutive quarter of what the company described as high-quality growth. Behind its “In China, for China, love China” approach is a commitment to continued investment, deeper localization and engagement with Chinese culture.

The ADIZERO ADIOS PRO EVO 3 helped achieve the first-ever sub-two-hour finish in an official marathon. (Photo / Adidas)

The CIIE has therefore become more than a launch venue for the sportswear group. It gives Adidas a place to introduce global technology, test how it resonates with Chinese consumers and present locally developed products to an international audience. Trionda’s journey from a Shanghai exhibition stand to football’s biggest tournament captures that two-way exchange. For Adidas, the experience can be summed up in three words: insight, co-creation and confidence. The CIIE offers global brands fresh opportunities for growth in China while enabling foreign-invested companies to share in the benefits of the country’s high-quality development.