China Connect Summit 2026: Where China's Innovation and European Capital Converge
China Connect Summit 2026 — Main Conference Zurich, Switzerland | October 2, 2026
Where China's Innovation & European Capital Converge
An exclusive forum convening at the intersection of European institutional capital and Chinese deep tech innovation. We move beyond headlines to examine the structural shifts in physical AI, robotics, and the new investment corridors between China and Europe.
China Connect Summit is built specifically to bring Chinese innovators and European institutional capital into the same room — through direct conversation, live product demonstration, and structured introduction.
The Main Conference is a full day of keynotes, panels, and live demos spanning physical AI, robotics, deep tech, and macro strategy, closing with an AI & Robotics Founders Drink.
🎯 Audience
Family offices & HNWIs
Institutional Investors & LPs
European Venture Capital & Private Equity
Asset and Wealth Managers
Deep tech, AI, and Robotics Founders
Corporate Executives & Strategic Partners
🗓️ Program — Main Conference
Morning
09:00-10:00 Registration & Welcome
10:00 - 10:20 Opening Keynote — Danchun Chen, Founder at Varen Partners
10:20-11:00 China Venture Landscape Keynote — featuring Kathy Xu, Founder, Capital Today. Three decades of venture investing in China, and where the next cycle of growth is headed.
11:00-11:20 Fireside Chat — Kathy Xu and Danchun Chen
11:20-11:40 Coffee Break and Networking
11:40-12:10 European Allocator Panel — Private Market
12:10-12:30 Hong Kong IPO Market — an update on Hong Kong’s IPO landscape, the return of technology listings, and the market’s role in connecting Chinese growth companies with global investors.
Lunch Break
12:30-13:30 Live Robotics Product Demo — an immersive showcase of leading Chinese robotics and hardware companies
Afternoon
13:30-14:00 LLM AI Spotlight Session — the latest from the frontier of Chinese large language models, featuring leaders from Minimax and Zhipu, two of the labs defining China's AI pace.
14:00-14:40 Physical AI: Inside China's Embodied AI Stack— featuring Genrobot (data), Sudo AI (sim-trained foundation models), Spirit (full-stack brain), Wuji Hand (dexterity/hands) - how China's embodied AI is actually being built, across the full chain from movement and manipulation to the data and foundation models underneath
14:40-15:00 China's No.1 RoboVan Company Goes Global featuring Neolix - the state of Chinese autonomous driving today, how Neolix scaled to become China's (and the world's) largest RoboVan operator, its expansion into Europe, and where the collaboration opportunity with European
15:00-15:30 Coffee Break & Networking
15:30-16:15 China Macro & Public Market Overview — An inside read on China - where the economic recovery stands, which sectors are leading, and what public-market signals mean for capital allocation into China.
16:15-16:45 European Allocator Panel - Public Market
16:45-16:50 Closing Remarks — key takeaways from the day and a closing perspective on the next chapter of China–Europe investment and innovation.
🎙️ Confirmed 2026 Speakers
Kathy Xu — legendary founder of China-focused Capital Today Group, Kathy is one of China's most respected and successful venture capitalists. With a career spanning decades, she has a track record of identifying and backing some of the country's most iconic companies, including JD.com, NetEase, Meituan, Horizon Robotics, Moonshot, Zhipu, Bytedance, Halara etc.
Allen Xiao — CFO, Zhipu. Allen oversees finance for Zhipu, one of China's foremost AI labs and developer of the GLM model family, which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January 2026 as the world's first publicly traded large-model company.
Rio Shen — General Manager, EMEA, MiniMax. Rio leads MiniMax's expansion across EMEA. MiniMax, founded in 2021, is one of China's leading AI labs, best known for its Hailuo video-generation model, and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January 2026.
Martina Hansen — Co-Founder & COO, Sudo AI. Martina co-founded Sudo AI, which develop foundation models for robot manipulation, trained in large-scale simulated environments where robots learn across millions of scenarios before ever entering a factory, warehouse, or home.
Leah Zheng - Co-Founder & COO, Spirit AI. Leah co-founded Spirit AI, a leading embodied AI company focusing on full-stack AI+robotics technology, developing general-purpose "Universal Brains" and vision-language-action (VLA) models for robots.
Shijie Min - Vice President and Head of Global Business Ecosystem, WUJI Hand, a category-defining leader in dexterous robotic manipulation. WUJI Hand arrives with one of the industry's most rigorously engineered track records: a 20-DoF, human-sized hand rated for 300,000+ grasp cycles.
William Wang - Vice President, Global Expansion at Genrobot.AI. An innovative embodied intelligence data solutions provider dedicated to building the critical data infrastructure necessary for advanced physical artificial intelligence models.
Herbert Mangesius - General Partner at Vsquared Ventures, the Munich deep-tech fund, investing in capital-intensive European hard tech — space, semiconductors, quantum, robotics, energy.
Hemant Sabherwal - Head of Corporate Solutions & EMEA Issuer Services at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). He leads the Corporate Solutions team and EMEA Issuer Services at the HKEX and a seasoned investment banker with over twenty years of experience primarily in equity capital market related roles in Hong Kong and London.
Benjamin Nuchowicz - Founder of AR Capital, a Geneva-based family office founded by Benjamin, who built his wealth through one of Europe’s early fund-of-hedge-funds platforms. The family office manages a diversified international portfolio and is an active investor across hedge funds, venture capital funds, and direct investments in China.
Justinas Milašauskas, CFA — Investment Manager, Willgrow. Justinas brings 15+ years of cross-asset investment experience to Willgrow, a single-family office founded by the principals behind a multi-billion-dollar logistics business. At Willgrow, he leads venture investing globally.
Faisal Rafi — Head of Research, RisCura. Faisal has 24 years of researching investment managers across asset classes and geographies, including alternatives and emerging markets — with a track record that includes manager research specifically in China.
Edouard Lingjaerde — Investment Manager, Reference Capital. Edouard works across venture capital research, global sourcing, and manager assessment at Reference Capital, a Geneva-based fund-of-funds and VC advisory firm.
Chuang Zhu - Principal, Pictet Alternative Advisors. He’s responsible for managing the Pictet Thematics Private Equity Technology funds, notably by setting the strategy, selecting & managing relationships with VC, growth and buyout funds in addition to the execution of direct co-investments in the technology and AI sector, with a primary focus on US and Asia.
Agibot - a global leader in humanoid robotics, building embodied AI for the AGI era. Since its 2023 founding in Shanghai, AGIBOT has amassed one of the industry's deepest commercial deployments: over 10,000 humanoid robots shipped, running live in 17+ countries and regions across reception, industrial assembly, logistics, and commercial cleaning.
More speakers to be announced.
📍 Location
Zurich, Switzerland — exact venue to be shared upon confirmation of attendance.
🎟️ Participation
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Early expressions of interest are encouraged. For qualified investors only.
🌏 About the Host
Varen Partners is a specialized investment firm dedicated to navigating China's evolving investment landscape, investing directly in Chinese growth-stage companies and next-gen venture funds. With on-the-ground presence across Europe and China, Varen gives global institutions, family offices, and sophisticated investors a high-conviction gateway into China — while building the trust and cross-border dialogue needed to sustain it.
🤝 Strategic Partner
Edelweiss Innovation & Intelligence Institute (EIII) is a Switzerland-based innovation institute focused on artificial intelligence, robotics, education, and entrepreneurship, fostering collaboration between innovation ecosystems in Europe and Asia. As a strategic partner of China Connect Summit 2026, EIII supports the Robotic Demo with its expertise and network in AI and robotics.
✨Other side events (1 October)
☕ Young Talent Coffee
A networking session connecting students, young professionals, founders, and investors.
🍸 Robotics & AI Founders Drinks
An evening networking reception for the AI & robotics community.