Hongqiao Tech Week announces first speakers as international business looks to China’s tech heartland

Hongqiao Tech Week announces first speakers for its Shanghai debut, bringing 200+ global tech leaders together across six stages in November.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, September 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Debut Shanghai event from the team behind Tech Festivals opens registration, with 200+ speakers expected across six stages this November

Hongqiao Tech Week (HTW), the new international technology event from Informa, has announced its first wave of speakers ahead of its debut at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC), Shanghai, from 20 to 22 November 2026.

The first edition arrives at a distinctive moment for Chinese technology. Chinese AI models rival the world’s best, the country’s manufacturers lead the global shift to electric vehicles, and Shanghai alone establishes more than 320 new technology firms a day, with R&D spending at 4.5% of the city’s GDP. Hongqiao Tech Week’s aim is to open that ecosystem up, providing a single international stage where Chinese and global companies build partnerships in both directions.

The first confirmed speakers reflect the ambition of companies emerging from the Hongqiao region and the wider Yangtze River Delta:

Simon Ninan, Chief Strategy Officer, Hitachi Ltd & SVP, Hitachi Vantara
Alvaro Garrido, Chief Operating Officer & CIO, Standard Chartered
Conglong Jiang, VP, Siemens
Foyu YUAN, Group Vice President, Baidu
Jun Huang, Vice President, Pony AI Inc
Chris Lai, Chairman & CEO, METiS TechBio
George Chen, Partner, The Asia Group
Despina Panayiotou, CEO Theodosiou, Tototheo Global

They join a programme expected to feature more than 200 speakers across six stages: Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0, Future Mobility & Energy, Digital Infrastructure, Startup, and Life Sciences & Health. This sits alongside 50,000+ square metres of exhibition, offsite lab tours, a startup pitch competition and TED-style Open Talks. Around 30,000 attendees are expected.

Hongqiao is Shanghai’s international gateway to the Yangtze River Delta, a region that generates around a quarter of China’s GDP and 30% of its economic growth, an economy roughly the size of Germany’s. Four in ten of China’s new energy vehicles are built in the Delta, and from Hongqiao’s transport hub, high-speed rail reaches Suzhou in 25 minutes and Hangzhou in 45. International business is moving accordingly. According to the Hongqiao government, foreign investment in the district rose 70.9% year on year in 2025, and the district is now home to 283 municipal-level corporate headquarters and more than 7,000 digital economy enterprises.

Government presence also runs through the programme. Backed by the Hongqiao government, high-level officials will open the ceremony, and attendees will include delegations from national, regional and municipal development zones alongside exclusive government receptions for exhibitors and sponsors. For international companies and media, that means direct access to officials who shape China’s technology market, including the Vice Mayor of Shanghai and representatives from:

The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce
The Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission
The Shanghai Qingpu District Government
The Management Committee of Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District
The National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
The Shanghai Changning District Government

Athena Gong, Vice President of Asia & Managing Director of China, Informa Markets said: “For a decade, international companies have watched China’s technology sector from a distance. Hongqiao Tech Week exists so they can stop watching and start meeting in real life: the AI labs, the EV supply chain, the biotechs and the officials who shape the market, in one place, three days.”

Registration is open now at hongqiaotechweek.com, with visitor passes which are required for country entry available via the registration portal.

ENDS

About Hongqiao Tech Week
Hongqiao Tech Week is a new international technology event bringing China’s innovation ecosystem together on a single stage, and connecting international companies with it in both directions. The first edition takes place from 20 to 22 November 2026 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai’s Hongqiao CBD, the city’s international gateway to the Yangtze River Delta, a region that generates around a quarter of China’s GDP. The event is expected to bring together 30,000 attendees and more than 200 speakers across six content stages, spanning artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0, future mobility and energy, digital infrastructure, startups, and life sciences and health, alongside more than 50,000 square metres of exhibition. Hongqiao Tech Week is produced through a partnership between Tech Festivals and Informa Markets China, with the backing of the Hongqiao government, and is part of the Global Tech Festivals family alongside London Tech Week. Registration: hongqiaotechweek.com

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