Day by day.

Every itinerary is a starting point. Visits, session topics and duration are tailored to your team's priorities before departure.

Day 1Platform Giants

09:30–12:30

Huawei

Songshan Lake European Town Campus

Global telecom equipment leader, now building out AI infrastructure and enterprise digitalisation services alongside its core networking business.

Why visit

One of the clearest examples of a privately held Chinese company building genuinely global R&D and engineering capability, including through a prolonged period of external pressure. IPD (Integrated Product Development) is one of the most widely benchmarked product-development frameworks among Chinese manufacturers.

13:30–15:30

Tencent

Shenzhen HQ

One of Asia's largest internet companies, built around a small number of long-running consumer ecosystems — messaging, gaming, content — rather than constant pivoting.

Why visit

See how one company sustains multiple mature product ecosystems for over a decade instead of chasing the next trend. A deliberately unhurried management style, worth studying as a counterpoint to 'move fast and break things'.

Day 2Frontier Tech — Drones, Vision AI & Robotics

09:30–11:30

DJI

Shenzhen Innovation Experience Centre

The world's leading maker of consumer and commercial drones. Live drone flight and RoboMaster combat-robot demonstration included.

Why visit

One of the few Chinese hardware companies to build and hold a genuinely global category lead, well beyond the domestic market. A live look at how DJI pairs deep manufacturing capability with fast product iteration.

13:00–14:30

SenseTime

Shenzhen Showroom

One of China's leading computer-vision and AI companies. Showroom tour covering 3D content generation, AI chess robot, crowd analytics and digital-human demos.

Why visit

A direct, working look at how computer-vision research becomes a deployed commercial product. Useful lens on China's AI commercialisation model.

14:45–16:15

UBTECH

Robotics Showroom

A leading humanoid and intelligent service robotics company. Hands-on robot interaction and a themed talk tailored to the group's sector.

Why visit

One of a small number of companies shipping humanoid robots at commercial scale rather than prototype stage. A grounded look at the gap between robotics hype and what is actually deployable today.

Swap option

EHang (low-altitude economy / eVTOL) can replace UBTECH for groups more focused on urban air mobility.

Day by day.

Every itinerary is a starting point. Visits, session topics and duration are tailored to your team's priorities before departure.

Day 1Global Benchmark and Domestic Champion

09:30–12:00

Bosch Suzhou

Lighthouse Factory

A World Economic Forum-designated Lighthouse Factory — one of a small number in China. Factory floor tour followed by sessions on lean digital transformation and quality management.

Why visit

A genuine, externally certified global benchmark from the World Economic Forum. Lean digital transformation and structured problem-solving demonstrated on a live production floor.

13:00–16:00

Inovance Technology

Showroom & Workshop

A domestic industrial automation leader and supplier to both Huawei and Tesla — sometimes described as 'the Huawei of industrial controls'. Showroom tour, production workshop walkthrough and a session on the path to manufacturing digitalisation.

Why visit

Evidence of a strong domestic player in an industrial automation stack more often associated with foreign brands. A concrete, transferable seven-step framework rather than abstract Industry 4.0 talk.

Day 2Automation and Industrial IoT

09:00–11:30

Yokogawa

Showroom & Production Line

One of the world's top ten industrial automation companies. Showroom tour, production line walkthrough and a session on lean management and continuous improvement.

Why visit

A century-old Japanese industrial name that keeps reinventing its own shop floor — a useful long-horizon counterpoint to faster-moving Chinese manufacturers. Kaizen-style continuous improvement remains one of the most exportable ideas in lean manufacturing.

13:00–14:30

Advantech

Workshop Walkthrough

A global leader in intelligent systems and industrial IoT platforms. Workshop walkthrough and a session on data-driven operations management.

Why visit

Bridges the hardware layer and the software/data layer that increasingly decides who wins in industrial IoT. A Taiwan-rooted company operating deep inside Mainland supply chains — a useful lens on cross-strait industrial integration.

Swap option

Ecovacs (consumer robotics) or the Bosch Apprenticeship Centre (German dual vocational-training model) can be substituted for groups focused on talent pipelines or B2C robotics.

Day by day.

Every itinerary is a starting point. Visits, session topics and duration are tailored to your team's priorities before departure.

Day 1The Platform and the New-Retail Playbook

10:00–12:30

Alibaba

Building 5 Campus, Hangzhou

One of the world's largest e-commerce platforms, now expanding into cloud, AI and digital-economy infrastructure. Campus tour followed by a themed session on the digital-intelligence economy.

Why visit

The reference point for platform-driven commerce in China. Most consumer brands you will meet elsewhere on this trip built their growth playbook on this platform. A live view of how a platform company is repositioning around AI and the digital-intelligence economy.

13:30–16:30

Joyoung

Culture Zone & Smart Factory, Hangzhou

Inventor of the soymilk maker and a category leader in e-commerce small-appliance sales. Brand culture zone, product showroom, smart-manufacturing workshop tour and a session on brand marketing.

Why visit

A single-category inventor that used e-commerce to become a small-appliance category leader — a clean case study in platform-driven brand growth. A genuine working factory tour, more hands-on than a standard corporate presentation.

Day 2FMCG Distribution and Premium Branding

09:30–12:00

Wahaha

Industrial Park, Hangzhou

One of the world's largest beverage producers, built on an FMCG distribution network established almost entirely offline. Industrial park tour and a session on building China's most extensive distributor network.

Why visit

A three-decade offline distribution network, worth understanding before assuming every Chinese consumer brand wins through e-commerce alone. A useful counterpoint to the platform-native brand growth seen on Day 1.

13:00–16:00

Robam Appliances

Smart Manufacturing & Logistics Base, Hangzhou

The leading brand in China's kitchen-appliance category. Brand heritage exhibit, digital smart-manufacturing base, smart warehousing and logistics base and a session on smart manufacturing.

Why visit

A premium-positioned domestic brand that grew on quality and design rather than competing purely on price — relevant for anyone studying premiumisation in the Chinese consumer market. A concrete look at the warehousing and factory operations behind a household appliance brand.

Shanghai Lujiazui financial district skyline

All programmes

Beijing · Shanghai2 days (extendable)

China Finance & Globalisation

Name: China Technology & Innovation
Location: Shenzhen

Gain perspective on capital, regulation and the financial forces linking China to the global economy.

Financial marketsPolicy & regulationCross-border growth

Why Beijing

Beijing is where China's fintech and venture capital activity concentrates. Shanghai is where that meets the traditional financial system — the Bund and Lujiazui are home to the stock exchange and the headquarters of most major domestic banks. Seeing both cities back to back, connected by China's flagship high-speed line, shows fintech from both directions.

Industries covered

Fintech & digital platforms
Corporate venture capital
Insurtech
Digital transformation in commercial banking

Sample itinerary

Day by day.

Every itinerary is a starting point. Visits, session topics and duration are tailored to your team's priorities before departure.

Day 1Beijing — Venture Capital & Platform Finance

09:30–11:30

Lenovo

Beijing HQ

A Chinese-founded, globally operating technology group with an active corporate venture arm. HQ showroom tour and a session on Lenovo Capital's CVC tech industry investment approach.

Why visit

A rare inside look at how a Chinese industrial company runs its own corporate venture capital arm, distinct from a bank's or a fund's approach to tech investment. A useful counterpoint to the platform-native fintech story.

13:00–15:00

ByteDance

Beijing Campus

Owner of Douyin and TikTok, and increasingly a platform that financial institutions use to reach consumers. Campus tour and a session on financial digitalisation transformation or Douyin marketing growth.

Why visit

See how a consumer platform has become one of the main channels financial institutions now use to reach retail customers. A concrete look at digital marketing built specifically for a regulated industry.

Evening

Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Rail

Beijing South Railway Station

The group departs on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed line — roughly 1,300 km covered in under five hours on the fastest services at 350 km/h. A genuine part of the itinerary: a good stretch to debrief on the day and prepare for Shanghai.

Why visit

One of the world's busiest and most punctual rail corridors. Arriving into Shanghai Hongqiao in the evening, well positioned for an early start the next morning.

Day 2Shanghai — Insurtech & Commercial Banking

09:00–10:15

ZhongAn Technology

Showroom, Shanghai

A global leader in insurance technology. Showroom tour and a session on digital innovation and practice, closing with a group photo at the Bund.

Why visit

China's first fully online insurer — a useful case study in building a regulated financial product with no physical branch network. A direct line from insurtech theory to a company that actually operates at scale.

13:30–15:30

Bank of Communications

Lujiazui, Shanghai

One of China's state-owned 'Big Five' commercial banks, headquartered in Shanghai's Lujiazui financial district. Tour of the bank's history museum followed by a session on private banking, risk management or product strategy.

Why visit

A state-owned bank's perspective on private banking and risk management — the traditional-finance counterweight to Day 1's platform-first stories. The history museum itself is a case study in how a 100-plus-year-old institution manages its own brand narrative.

Investment

From £500–£1,000 per delegate

Pricing is per delegate and scales with group size. Larger delegations benefit from a lower per-head rate. All itineraries are fully customisable — visits, session topics and duration can be tailored to your team's priorities.

Included

All company visits and private sessions
Dedicated programme director throughout
Pre-departure briefing and post-programme debrief
Ground logistics and in-city transfers
Beijing–Shanghai high-speed rail tickets

Not included

International flights
Hotel accommodation
Meals unless specified

Who is this for

Finance, strategy and investment leaders from European and US enterprises seeking a grounded view of China's financial system, fintech landscape and cross-border capital flows.

Typically 8–20 delegates. Smaller executive groups (4–7) can be accommodated with adjusted pricing.

Available dates

Bespoke dates are available for groups of 10 or more. Contact us to discuss availability.

Check availability

Apply for 2027

Discuss your delegation.

Tell us about your team's priorities and we will shape an itinerary around the conversations that matter most to you.

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China Technology & Innovation

Day by day.

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China Manufacturing & Supply Chains

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China Consumer Market

Day by day.

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China Finance & Globalisation

Day by day.

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