Artificial Intelligence · Robotics · Advanced Manufacturing
Going inside the companies building China's
AI, robotics and advanced manufacturing.
Five to ten days on the ground across Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai and other Chinese innovation hubs, in closed-door conversation with the founders, presidents and chief executives who decide.
Where the last cohort went.
Huawei · Tencent · HONOR · UBTECH · Pudu Robotics · BrainCo
EngineAI · X Square Robot · DEPTRUM · Laipic
Shenzhen AI Industry Association · Qianhai Hub
Summer 2026 Cohort · Shenzhen
You can read every report on Chinese AI and still not know what is actually happening.
Reports are written from the outside. Conferences give you a stage. Trade fairs give you a booth.
China Executive Immersion puts a small group of founders and CEOs across the table from the decision makers themselves — in closed-door conversations where roadmaps, cost structures and strategic intent are discussed openly, at a level of detail that does not appear on a conference panel or in a press release.
Meet the people who decide.
Understand how it really works.
Build the relationships that become business.
Meetings you could not book alone.
Every meeting is arranged directly with the company, at the level that matters — private, on their premises, with an agenda built around the questions you arrive with.
The people who actually decide.
Founders and chief executives. Vice presidents. Executives from the president's office. Heads of strategy and international markets. People with the authority to answer a real question — and to act on it.
Technology in your hands — not behind glass.
You operate the robot arm. You wear the interface. You take the ride. Demonstrations are hands-on and unscripted.
Not one company. The whole ecosystem.
Platforms, chips, humanoids, service robots, interfaces, creative AI, the industry association, the incubator. A programme that maps an entire sector.
And they came to meet you.
Association roundtables, provincial forums, state-convened summits — the itinerary puts you on the programme, not in the seats. You present your own company to Chinese founders, investors and officials, and they ask as many questions as they answer. You leave known, not only informed.
What one cohort looks like
Every itinerary is built from scratch around the questions the group arrives with. This is how the Summer 2026 cohort was mapped.
- AI Platforms & Compute
- Huawei · Tencent · HONOR
- Robotics & Embodied AI
- UBTECH · Pudu Robotics · X Square Robot · EngineAI
- Interfaces & Creative AI
- BrainCo · DEPTRUM · Laipic
- Ecosystem & Capital
- Shenzhen AI Industry Association · Qianhai Shenzhen–Hong Kong Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub
Who you meet
Founders and chief executives.
Vice presidents and executives from presidents' offices.
Heads of strategy, heads of international markets.
General managers of state-backed innovation hubs.
Every meeting is set at the level where decisions are made — and every participant arrives having read a written analysis of the company, its business model and the questions worth asking.
The questions went both ways.
At a joint session with the Shenzhen AI Industry Association, each participant presented their own company to a room of local founders and investors — and took their questions. Chinese executives asked about the European market as often as they were asked about their own.
You do not only see China.
China sees you.
“We didn't just do a tour, we didn't do only the showroom — we were always having meetings with top people at these companies.”
“The schedule was tight but very efficient, and the meetings were super on point. The executives we met were reliable and keen on knowing us better and doing business with us.”
“I've already set up meetings with companies here — Tencent, HONOR, Huawei as well.”
“Business is based on relationship and trust. Not having only formal meetings reinforced the chance we'll have to do business together.”
This is for you if
- You are a founder, CEO or C-level executive with decision authority
- You want to understand and work with AI, robotics and advanced manufacturing
- You are considering sourcing, partnering, or benchmarking against Chinese companies
- You can commit to the full programme on the ground
Included
- All company meetings, arranged and confirmed in advance
- Pre-departure briefing pack: a written analysis of every company you will meet
- On-the-ground coordination and interpretation
- Ground transport between meetings
- Post-visit debrief and follow-up support
Not included
- International flights
- Accommodation (a recommended hotel is reserved for the group)
- Visa
- Other personal expenses
Price on application, per participant.
Selected work
Four programmes. Four different maps.
Case 01 · The cohort, in full
Summer 2026 Cohort — Shenzhen
Twelve organisations across the full technology stack: Huawei, Tencent and HONOR on platforms and compute; UBTECH, Pudu, X Square Robot and EngineAI on humanoids and embodied AI; BrainCo, DEPTRUM and Laipic on interfaces and creative AI; the Shenzhen AI Industry Association and the Qianhai Hub on ecosystem and capital. Every meeting was held with executives at decision level, and the group presented their own companies to a room of local founders and investors.
CASE 02 · THE COHORT IS THE PRODUCT
Optics Valley to the main table — Wuhan (2025)
Hosted by the province, convened by Hubei's provincial federation. Then Shanghai: a main-table seat at the Asia-Pacific trade forum, alongside ten consuls general.
CASE 03 · CHINA SEES YOU
Three keynotes, two innovation capitals (2024)
Invited, not attending. A foreign-experts mission convened by Zhongguancun and Xiong'an — on stage, not in the audience.
See China from the inside.
Next cohort — November 2026
Applications reviewed on a rolling basis.
ApplyPresented by VIVA Consulting