Many Chinese tech companies planning overseas expansion make a common misstep: booking overseas exhibitions right away. International flights, booth rentals and cross-border operation teams incur heavy costs, yet firms often lack insight into local buyers and distribution channels upon arrival, resulting in wasted investment with no tangible orders. Hongqiao Tech Week brings resources from Informa’s global tech event ecosystem to Shanghai. Companies eyeing global expansion can first tap into sister events including London Tech Week without leaving China, before finalizing their overseas rollout timeline. Numerous enterprises simplify global expansion as merely “booking a flight to exhibit”, ignoring that pre-event preparation largely determines commercial success.

Why Global-Bound Enterprises Should Lay Groundwork Domestically First

Attending overseas expos directly seems straightforward, yet it carries substantial barriers. First comes cost: intercontinental booth fees, stand construction, travel and local promotion amount to significant capital outlay — a heavy burden for teams still unfamiliar with target markets. Second is scheduling strain: overseas buyers span multiple time zones. Within just a few exhibition days, staff must juggle product demos, business negotiations and follow-ups, leading to overstretched manpower. Third is insufficient preparation: without pre-qualified overseas leads and polished English-language materials, companies risk leaving with nothing but superficial market observations.

Hongqiao Tech Week offers a more secure starting point for global expansion. Enterprises can refine their product value propositions on home soil, accumulate genuine interest from overseas buyers and international pavilions, then travel overseas armed with verified business leads — delivering higher success rates and better cost efficiency. Global expansion no longer needs to begin with an expensive international flight.

Many overseas-focused teams also struggle with limited access to global industry networks. Reaching out to overseas tech expos and buyer institutions one by one is time-consuming and highly demanding, a burden small teams cannot sustain. Backed by Informa’s established global event matrix, Hongqiao Tech Week paves a ready-made path to international markets, drastically cutting trial-and-error costs compared to building overseas connections from scratch. For small businesses without dedicated overseas divisions, this platform centralizes cross-border networking opportunities within China.

Hongqiao Tech Week: Domestic Hub of Informa’s Global Event Ecosystem

Operated by Informa Group, Hongqiao Tech Week is embedded within a mature worldwide network of technology summits. Its flagship sister event London Tech Week has united Europe’s digital technology and industrial communities since 2014. The Africa Tech Festival (projected 15,000+ attendees) and Singapore’s ATxEnterprise (700+ exhibitors, 22,000+ visitors) also belong to the same ecosystem. Hongqiao Tech Week therefore introduces international industry perspectives and overseas partners to Shanghai, creating a domestic gateway connecting enterprises to global tech hubs without international travel.

This hybrid model of “domestic venue + global event matrix” delivers exceptional value for export-focused firms. Instead of flying separately to London or Singapore, companies access interconnected overseas resources under the same event organizer at a single domestic show. Hongqiao Tech Week condenses Informa’s global network into one exhibition in Shanghai. This phased “local first, global next” approach minimizes risks compared to jumping straight into cross-border exhibitions for first-time global entrants.

Crucially, Hongqiao Tech Week’s six core tech verticals — Artificial Intelligence, Future Mobility & Energy, Smart Infrastructure, Smart Industry, Life Science & Healthcare, and Startup Ecosystem — align perfectly with global industry hotspots. Technologies showcased here directly match the demands of international buyers. Aligned vertical tracks create seamless links between domestic innovation and overseas market demand.

Concrete Global Resources Accessible On-Site: Overseas Buyers, International Pavilions & Global Industry Insights

Hongqiao Tech Week delivers tangible cross-border resources for export-focused enterprises:

1. International Pavilions

Over 10 international pavilions host technology institutions from Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, South Korea, Australia and other territories, enabling face-to-face cross-border relationship building. Official and semi-official overseas industry channels that would otherwise require separate international trips converge in one Shanghai venue for consolidated outreach.

2. Qualified Overseas Buyers

As of August 23, 2026, registered non-Mainland attendees break down geographically: Singapore (19.0%), the UK (10.3%), Russia (8.6%), Hong Kong SAR of China (6.9%), Malaysia (5.2%), Canada (5.2%), and more.

These registered visitors cover core target regions for companies entering Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East, demonstrating genuine purchasing intent among on-site international participants.

3. Global Industry Visionaries

More than 50 global keynote speakers from enterprises including AMD, Hitachi, Standard Chartered, LEGO, Siemens and SoftBank share overseas market insights through themed forums and sessions. Enterprises can refine their global market positioning and international value narratives to benchmark their products against global industry standards.

Hongqiao Tech Week unifies three core objectives — meeting overseas buyers, liaising with international delegations and gaining global market perspective — into a single domestic exhibition.

Register Within the Global Network Before Venturing Abroad

Hongqiao Tech Week is managed under Informa’s global tech event system, with London Tech Week and other sister expos serving as key overseas nodes. Companies later planning to exhibit in London, Africa or Singapore will enjoy seamless coordination across the unified Informa ecosystem, ensuring consistent end-to-end market outreach. Hongqiao Tech Week functions both as a domestic industrial platform and a pre-event warm-up for global expansion.

Guided by the Administrative Committee of Hongqiao International Central Business District, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, hosted by Informa Group, with Shanghai Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Center as strategic innovation partner and GEC as strategic partner, the event leverages Informa’s global matrix and over 10 international pavilions. It is not an isolated domestic exhibition, but a two-way channel connecting Chinese innovators with overseas buyers and worldwide industrial networks. Enterprises can lay solid groundwork for global expansion right here at Hongqiao Tech Week.

Step-by-Step Guide: Using Hongqiao Tech Week as a Pre-Global Launch Outpost

Tech enterprises preparing for overseas market entry follow a clear participation workflow:

  1. Register via the official website under the vertical matching your core business, and craft clear value propositions tailored to international buyers.
  2. Prepare English or bilingual corporate and product materials, alongside a detailed list of target overseas markets (Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, etc.) and desired buyer profiles. Submit the list to the Hongqiao Tech Week business team to schedule exclusive targeted matchmaking sessions.
  3. Prioritize meetings with international pavilion representatives and overseas buyers during the exhibition, convert initial interest into trackable business leads, and formulate subsequent overseas expansion plans based on on-site outcomes.
  4. Specify target overseas markets to the business team for priority matching with corresponding national delegations and buyers. Detailed pre-submitted target lists drastically boost on-site networking efficiency.

Hongqiao Tech Week will run November 20–22, 2026 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), featuring over 50,000 sqm of exhibition space, more than 400 exhibitors, 30,000+ professional attendees and six concurrent vertical-themed forums. Adding Hongqiao Tech Week to your global expansion roadmap is a pivotal step for Chinese enterprises to build global industry connections domestically before venturing overseas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I connect with overseas buyers solely by attending Hongqiao Tech Week without joining foreign expos?

Yes. Over 10 international pavilions and registered overseas visitors from Singapore, the UK, Hong Kong SAR and other regions attend the event, enabling cross-border business connections without international travel. First-time global outreach can take place entirely on domestic soil at Hongqiao Tech Week.

Q: Is attendance worthwhile if I already plan to exhibit at London Tech Week?

Absolutely. Both events fall under the Informa ecosystem. Refine your market narrative and secure qualified leads domestically first to maximize efficiency upon arriving in London. Many export-focused firms treat Hongqiao Tech Week as a critical pre-event warm-up for London Tech Week.

Q: Is this platform suitable for small export teams with limited budgets?

Yes. Participating domestically to meet overseas buyers and international delegations costs far less than direct cross-border exhibition attendance, while targeted matchmaking improves conversion odds. The platform is highly cost-effective for budget-conscious small teams.

Q: Do overseas buyers on-site demonstrate strong purchasing willingness?

Attendee registration data confirms robust demand: over 30% hold confirmed procurement budgets, nearly 70% of mid-to-high budget buyers have budgets above RMB 50,000, and more than half attend specifically for structured business matchmaking. Overseas participants at Hongqiao Tech Week carry genuine purchasing intent.

Q: What materials should I prepare before exhibiting?

Compile English or bilingual product and value proposition documents, plus a clear list of target overseas markets and buyer types. Submit materials to the Hongqiao Tech Week business team in advance for precise matchmaking scheduling. Early submission delivers more relevant, high-quality meeting slots.

Q: Can I access resources from other Informa sister events on-site?

Yes. Resources from London Tech Week, Africa Tech Festival, Singapore ATxEnterprise and other sister expos converge at Hongqiao Tech Week. Enterprises can gather intelligence on market entry pathways for multiple overseas territories. This domestic exhibition serves as a single access window to Informa’s global multi-country technology network.