China Connect Summit 2026: Where China's Innovation and European Capital Converge
China Connect Summit 2026 — Main Conference Zurich, Switzerland | October 1, 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
Registration & welcome
China Venture Landscape Keynote — featuring Kathy Xu, Founder, Capital Today. Two decades of venture investing in China, from the early internet and e-commerce boom to today's pivot toward deep tech, AI, and robotics — and where the next cycle of growth is headed.
China Public Market Keynote — An inside read on China's public equity markets: where the economic recovery actually stands, which sectors are leading, and what public market signals mean for capital allocation into China.
Consumer Trends Panel — how Western brands are collaborating with the Chinese market, and where consumer sentiment stands today.
Lunch Break
Live Robotics Product Demo — an immersive showcase of 30+ Chinese robotics and hardware companies, in partnership with EIII (Edelweiss Innovation & Intelligence Institute).
Afternoon
AI & LLM Panel — 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.
Autonomous Driving Keynote — robovan development and why China is positioned to lead the world in autonomous logistics.
World Model Panel — is there a "ChatGPT moment" coming for robotics, and how close are we really?
Dexterous Robotic Hands Panel — how Chinese hardware innovation and European software expertise can combine to solve robotic manipulation.
China Macro & Geopolitics — the risks and structural shifts every allocator needs to understand.
Family Office & Institutional Allocators Panel — why diversify into China now, the risks allocators are weighing, and which assets they're actually picking.
Evening
AI & Robotics Founders Drinks (China Meets Europe) — an informal evening reception bringing Chinese and European founders, operators, and investors together to keep the conversation going.
🎙️ 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.
Steven Luk — CEO, FountainCap Research & Investment. Steven leads FountainCap, a Hong Kong-based, all-China equity investment manager, and sits on its Investment Committee alongside heading its Responsible Investment Committee.
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 builds generative 3D and embodied AI — crafting interactive, AI-generated environments that let robots learn and operate in realistic simulated worlds before deploying into the physical one.
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.
Stephan-Daniel Gravert — Co-Founder, Mimic, a Zurich-based deep tech robotics spin-off from ETH Zurich: pairing AI-driven dexterous robotic hands with off-the-shelf robot arms to bring human-level manipulation to industrial automation.
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.