On 28 September, the press briefing for Hongqiao Tech Week was held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).
Representatives from the Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District Administrative Committee, the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the People’s Government of Qingpu District, Shanghai, National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and the organiser Informa Group, together with over 80 delegates from tech enterprises, investment institutions, industry associations and news media, gathered on-site to learn about the overall arrangement and latest preparation progress of Hongqiao Tech Week 2026.
*Scene from the Hongqiao Tech Week Press Briefing
Hongqiao Tech Week 2026 will take place from 20 to 22 November at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). Centered on the theme “Global Tech Visions, Realised Through China’s Industrial Momentum”, the event will bring together tech enterprises, innovation organisations, investment institutions and professional visitors worldwide, serving as a platform for international sci‑tech cooperation and industrial matchmaking.
HONGQIAO TECH WEEK 2026
Rooted in the Hongqiao Transport Hub, Building a New Global Innovation Platform
In recent years, the Hongqiao International Central Business District has steadily strengthened its foundation for innovation-driven industries. It is now home to 25,000 tech service enterprises, 1,183 high-tech enterprises, 785 specialised, sophisticated, unique and innovative enterprises, and 42 gazelle enterprises. The number of innovation market entities doubled during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. From January to July this year, the revenue of above-scale tech service industries reached 7.791 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.8%. Leveraging its geographical advantages as a core zone for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, as well as leading industrial clusters covering life sciences and healthcare, digital economy, low-carbon new energy, low-altitude economy and aerospace information, Hongqiao is emerging as a key hub to accommodate global innovation resources.
Yang Xubo, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District Administrative Committee, shared that with joint support from relevant municipal authorities, the Administrative Committee and Informa Group completed in-depth communications and multiple rounds of negotiations to introduce this international tech IP, officially named “Hongqiao Tech Week”.
He stated: “We will give full play to the CBD’s strengths as an open transport hub. Through three years of continuous cultivation and iterative upgrading, we aim to build Hongqiao Tech Week into a globally influential sci‑tech event and foster a new landscape of regular, international global innovation activities.”
*Yang Xubo, Deputy Director, Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District Administrative Committee
Focusing on collaborative innovation across the Yangtze River Delta, Hongqiao Tech Week will launch a flagship strategic exhibition zone for the Yangtze River Delta Innovation Corridor. It will showcase the latest achievements and core strengths of R&D clusters for manufacturing industries in the region, helping foster a collaborative model featuring “R&D in Hongqiao, manufacturing across the Yangtze River Delta, and access to global markets”上海市人民….
The organisers share the same vision with the Administrative Committee of Hongqiao International Central Business District: through three years of continuous cultivation and iterative upgrading, a dual-city layout will take shape with London hosting the event in spring and Hongqiao in autumn. Boasting dual strengths as a gateway connecting global sci-tech networks and industrial buyers across China, the event will enable international technological resources to enter the Chinese market more efficiently, while helping Chinese tech firms expand globally with greater ease.
HONGQIAO TECH WEEK 2026
From Global Sci-Tech Networks to Real Industrial Scenarios in China
As the organiser, Informa Group elaborated on the positioning and latest preparations for Hongqiao Tech Week at the briefing.
Headquartered in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange, Informa PLC is a global B2B group specialising in exhibitions, digital services and academic publishing上海博华国…. This year’s Hongqiao Tech Week pools resources from four of its business divisions:
- Informa Markets brings worldwide exhibitors and buyer networks;
- Informa Festivals delivers global tech communities and speaker networks including London Tech Week;
- Informa TechTarget provides cutting-edge industry trend research with over 220 B2B tech media brands and approximately 50 million authorised professional audiencesInforma;
- Taylor & Francis will release white papers and industrial trend reports on-site during the tech weekTaylo…
In the technology sector, Informa is building a global innovation platform ecosystem. London Tech Week, ATxEnterprise in Singapore and the Africa Tech Festival connect the tech ecosystems of Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa respectively. Hongqiao Tech Week marks the first stop of this global innovation platform in China.
Gong Kangkang, Vice President of Informa Asia and Managing Director of China, the organiser, stated:
“‘Global Tech Visions, Realised Through China’s Industrial Momentum’ is far more than a slogan. It embodies our strategic proposition: to bring the world’s most ambitious technological forces into China’s large-scale industrial landscapes, where technologies can find markets, partners and viable pathways to implementation.
Hongqiao Tech Week aims to bridge global innovation and the Chinese market by building a two-way channel. Inbound, we facilitate the entry of global technologies, capital and talent into China, with a special welcome for global startups at the ‘0-to-1’ innovation stage. Outbound, we support Chinese tech enterprises in going global.
Working alongside the Administrative Committee, the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Qingpu District Government and the National Exhibition and Convention Center, we will develop Hongqiao Tech Week into a truly valuable global innovation event, enabling global scientific and technological innovation to empower the growth of Chinese enterprises.”
*Gong Kangkang, Vice President, Informa Asia & Managing Director, China
The rationale for hosting Hongqiao Tech Week in Hongqiao can be summed up in three keywords: scale, openness and timing.
The Yangtze River Delta boasts a trillion-yuan industrial hinterland, with accelerated growth across sectors including semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, autonomous driving, new energy and artificial intelligence. Located at the heart of the Yangtze River Delta urban cluster, Hongqiao enjoys convenient access to major cities in the region via an extensive high-speed railway and highway network. It hosts abundant application scenarios and supply chain resources, together with a highly concentrated community of seasoned international exhibitors, buyers and visitors.
China’s 15th Five-Year Plan sets out new arrangements for Shanghai to develop into an international sci-tech innovation centre and advance the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. Hongqiao is accelerating the integration of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain and talent chain — the “four-chain integration”. Hongqiao Tech Week will serve as an international connectivity platform linking these four chains.
HONGQIAO TECH WEEK 2026
Joint Efforts to Accelerate the Gathering of Global Tech Resources in Shanghai
Regarding the preparation and future development of the tech week, officials from technology, commerce, local support and venue operation sectors shared their expectations for this platform from their respective perspectives.
Jiang Ge, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, noted:
“Hosting Hongqiao Tech Week carries great significance for Shanghai’s efforts to serve the national strategy of sci-tech opening-up. It also acts as a concrete measure for the Hongqiao International Open Hub to strengthen its core function as a major innovation cluster. Throughout the preparation of this event, the sci‑tech community is not merely a supporting party, but a co-builder involved in the whole process.”
*Jiang Ge, Deputy Director, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality
In March 2026, the General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government officially issued the Shanghai Global Tech Partners Programme, which puts forward 18 measures centred on six key initiatives. Hongqiao Tech Week serves as a key milestone for the Programme’s concentrated implementation in the exhibition and convention sector.
Li Hong, First-Class Inspector of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, stated:
“Hongqiao Tech Week represents a successful case of deep integration and mutual empowerment between high-calibre project attraction and business model innovation in Shanghai. It embodies the organic combination of world-class international IP and Shanghai’s strengths in conventions and exhibitions. Leveraging Shanghai’s comprehensive exhibition support ecosystem, mature service capacity and high-level opening-up platforms, the event facilitates the local adaptation and innovative upgrading of international resources.
It also reflects the profound integration between premium exhibition platforms and local sci-tech industrial strengths. The exhibition platform connects global innovation resources and channels high-quality innovation factors to gather, settle and achieve commercialisation at a faster pace.
Furthermore, it showcases the innovative fusion of cutting-edge international models and the convention and exhibition industry, making advanced technological achievements experiential, connectable and deployable.”
*Li Hong, First-Class Inspector, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce
On-site, Chen Xiqi, Vice District Mayor of the People’s Government of Qingpu District, Shanghai, introduced the support measures Qingpu has rolled out for Hongqiao Tech Week under its service brand “One-Stop Exhibition Services”.
*Chen Xiqi, Vice District Mayor, People’s Government of Qingpu District, Shanghai
Hua Wei, President of National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., stated that the company will leverage the venue’s comprehensive strengths and professional service capacity, and work with all parties to bring global sci-tech innovation resources into China and pool them within the Yangtze River Delta.
*Hua Wei, President, National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
HONGQIAO TECH WEEK 2026
Six Thematic Stages Spotlight Key Technology and Industry Sectors
Hongqiao Tech Week 2026 will cover approximately 50,000 square meters of exhibition space, welcome an estimated 30,000+ professional visitors, feature six thematic stages, host 200+ conferences and thematic forums, and bring together 200+ speakers. The event will also offer one-to-one targeted business matchmaking and more than 30 interactive experiences.
By deeply integrating conferences, exhibitions and interactive experiences, Hongqiao Tech Week will go beyond the boundaries of traditional trade shows. Its six thematic stages will focus on key sectors shaping the future of technology and industry.
AI
Enterprise deployment of large language models and AI agents, AI safety and AI governance.
Smart Infrastructure
Computing networks and data centers, photonic and quantum computing, 6G and communications.
Future Mobility and Energy
Autonomous driving, the low-altitude economy, energy storage and the global expansion of new energy technologies.
Smart Industry
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), human-machine collaboration, embodied intelligence, industrial AI agents and digital twins.
Life Sciences and Healthcare
Brain-computer interfaces, AI-driven drug discovery, advanced therapies including cell and gene therapies, and the international expansion of innovative medicines.
Startup Ecosystem
Hard-tech financing, cross-border expansion and exit strategies.
Among the 200+ confirmed speakers are Alvaro Garrido, Chief Operating Officer of Standard Chartered; Simon Ninan, Chief Strategy Officer at Hitachi; and Jiang Chonglong, Senior Vice President of Siemens China, alongside executives from leading Chinese companies, including COSCO SHIPPING Technology, Jitai Pharma and Beijing Cybernetics Technology.
Meanwhile, international visitor recruitment is now in full swing. Leveraging Informa’s global network across Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North America, Hongqiao Tech Week is extending targeted invitations to international buyers to visit Shanghai and connect face-to-face with exhibitors from China.
Visitor registration is also now open. Registered companies span a broad range of sectors, including technology and manufacturing, consumer electronics, biopharmaceuticals, finance and professional services. Participating companies and organizations include Huawei, Alibaba, Xiaomi, XPeng, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), BASF, Deloitte, Dell Technologies, Rockwell Automation, SK Telecom, the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED), and the Middle East Investment and Trade Promotion Center, among others.
Hongqiao Tech Week will centre its programme around conferences, with exhibitions designed to complement the conference agenda. Interactive experiences will demonstrate real-world commercial application scenarios for technologies, forming a dual-track model that links the flagship exhibition in the main venue with events across the wider Hongqiao area.
Beyond the exhibition halls, Tech Journey Shanghai, co-developed with the Shanghai Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Center, features 10 themed routes connecting leading local enterprises, research institutions and industrial hubs. The programme enables global innovators to go deep into Shanghai’s industrial frontlines and witness how technologies move from laboratories into businesses, industrial parks and real-life application settings.
Targeted one-on-one business matchmaking adopts pre-event demand matching and precise invitations to bring supply and demand stakeholders together for face-to-face discussions on-site, turning initial engagements into tangible projects.
A rich lineup of supplementary activities will run alongside the main event, including hackathons, inspiration flash talks and exclusive closed-door dinners, creating more opportunities for technology demonstration, industrial collaboration, capital matching and international exchanges.
*Scene from the Hongqiao Tech Week Press Briefing
Hongqiao Tech Week is now counting down to opening day.
Gong Kangkang, Vice President of Informa Asia and Managing Director, China, gave additional remarks in post-briefing interviews with dozens of on-site journalists. He noted that Hongqiao Tech Week looks forward to welcoming global tech enterprises, innovation institutions and industrial partners to Shanghai. Together, they will build a new platform for international sci‑tech cooperation and industrial matchmaking. The event aims to contribute fresh momentum to Shanghai’s drive to become a globally influential sci‑tech innovation centre and an international convention and exhibition capital, empower the Hongqiao International Open Hub to strengthen its core functions of “major innovation” and “major exhibitions”, and advance high-quality integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.
20–22 November 2026 National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai)
Global tech visions will connect with China’s market here.
Global innovation forces will meet China’s industrial momentum here.