In China, AI glasses let the wearer pay in shops with just a glance at a QR code and a voice command, as a growing number of companies look to conquer both growing domestic and overseas markets.

Interest in smart eyewear is soaring worldwide after more than a decade of stalled promise, with advances in artificial intelligence sparking a fresh boon for the sector.

US giant Meta is the clear market leader, but a host of Chinese companies -- from behemoths like Alibaba and Xiaomi to start-ups like Rokid and XREAL -- have their sights set on catching up.

"China's advantages are self-evident," Rokid CEO Misa Zhu told AFP after a recent launch in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

"The ecosystem and its supply chain are all in China, and China produces a lot."

Domestically, Chinese companies hav

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