China Innovation Immersions

Understanding the system
behind China's rise

Structured executive study journeys for European business leaders. Three cities, one week, a single analytical thread.

June 2026 Journey
The Context

A structural reversal that European leaders need to understand

Over the past two decades, China has moved from being perceived mainly as a manufacturing base to holding a dominant position across a majority of critical and emerging technologies worldwide.

66 of 74
ASPI Critical Technology Tracker, December 2025
Critical and emerging technologies in which China now leads global high-impact research — including AI, robotics, energy, advanced materials, biotechnology, quantum, and advanced manufacturing. In the early 2000s, China led in fewer than five.

For European executives, the strategic implications are significant — whether in terms of competition, supply chains, partnerships, or market access. But making sound decisions requires understanding the system behind these results: how industrial policy, financing mechanisms, ecosystems, talent flows, and long-term planning interact to produce innovation at this scale.

That understanding is what most approaches to China fail to provide. Fragmented visits, isolated company showcases, and conference panels describe products without explaining the mechanics. Visionera is designed to fill this gap.

What Visionera Is

Executive study journeys that explain the mechanics of Chinese innovation

Visionera designs and delivers executive study journeys in China for CEOs, board members, and senior decision-makers. Each journey follows a structured analytical storyline across carefully selected cities, combining company visits, high-level exchanges, and continuous strategic framing by the Visionera team and a network of China-based experts.

The programme is built to explain how Chinese innovation works at a system level — not to showcase individual companies or products. Participants leave with a structured understanding and a clearer basis to define their own strategic positioning vis-à-vis China.

Executive briefing session in China
June 2026 — Shenzhen · Hangzhou · Shanghai

Three cities, three layers

A one-week executive study journey through three Chinese cities, each chosen to reveal a distinct layer of how Chinese innovation works. The sequence forms a single analytical thread: from the industrial foundation, to the AI and platform layer, to the global stage where Chinese technology meets the rest of the world.

Shenzhen
The industrial foundation

Hardware ecosystems, supply chain density, and speed-to-market dynamics visible at a scale that exists nowhere else. Visits focused on robotics, drones, and advanced manufacturing. Expert briefings on how Shenzhen's ecosystem was built and why this model is difficult to replicate.

Hangzhou
The AI and platform layer

Where digital platforms and applied AI are deployed at industrial scale. Visits include humanoid robotics, platform ecosystems, and government-driven innovation clusters. Focus on how China turns technology into operational systems.

Shanghai
The global interface

MWC Shanghai 2026 (24–26 June) — one of Asia's largest technology exhibitions. Chinese technology capabilities in their global market context. Closing synthesis and strategic positioning session.

European business delegation visiting a Chinese technology company
Programme at a Glance

20 – 27 June 2026

SAT 20 JUN Brussels Departure. Several connections available.
SUN 21 JUN Shenzhen Arrival mid-morning. Welcome briefing — strategic frame for the week. Welcome dinner.
MON 22 JUN Shenzhen Expert presentations. Drone demonstration. Two company visits (robotics, drones, advanced hardware). Expert dinner.
TUE 23 JUN SZ → HZ Two company visits. Flight to Hangzhou. Transition briefing: shifting the lens from hardware to platforms, data, and AI.
WED 24 JUN Hangzhou Three company visits including humanoid robotics. AI deployment at scale, platform ecosystem dynamics. Group discussion.
THU 25 JUN Shanghai High-speed train to Shanghai. MWC Shanghai Day 1 with curated guidance. Group dinner.
FRI 26 JUN Shanghai MWC Day 2. Closing synthesis session — key signals, strategic positioning. Farewell dinner.
SAT 27 JUN Shanghai Departure. Direct flights to European destinations available.
Who We Are

Ground-level expertise built over two decades

Antoine Bruneel speaking at ZGC Forum, Beijing

Visionera was initiated by Antoine Bruneel — over two decades in China, based in Beijing. Currently President of the Benelux Chamber of Commerce North China and Member of the Supervisory Board of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.

He is surrounded by an exceptional network of China specialists in technology, innovation ecosystems, policy, industry, and finance. Together, they design, curate, and execute each Immersion Journey, ensuring both strategic depth and operational relevance.

Years of institutional engagement with Chinese government bodies, technology leaders, and industrial groups give Visionera direct access to conversations and counterparts that standard business delegations rarely reach.

Visionera builds on this collective, ground-level expertise as a platform rooted in long-term engagement, system-level understanding, and trusted local insight.

Who It's For

Senior decision-makers who need clarity on China

The programme is designed for CEOs, board members, and senior executives who carry responsibility for strategy, innovation, technology, industrial development, or international positioning. It is relevant both for leaders with limited prior exposure to China and for those already active in the Chinese market who seek a deeper, system-level understanding.

Participants leave with a structured understanding of China's innovation and technology ecosystems, the ability to interpret technological, industrial, and policy signals, and a clearer basis to define their strategic positioning — alongside peer-level exchanges with other senior decision-makers facing similar challenges.

In Practice

Fully curated, executive-grade

10–15 participants

Small, carefully selected groups that allow for meaningful exchanges and peer-level interaction.

Five-star logistics

All accommodation, local transportation, and on-the-ground coordination handled throughout the week.

Expert accompaniment

The Visionera team and local experts accompany the group at all times, providing context before and after each meeting.

Analytical framing

Every company visit, expert session, and city transition is framed within a coherent storyline that explains the how and the why.

Benelux Chamber Digital Retail Day at Tencent headquarters
Get in Touch

Interested in the June 2026 journey?

Reach out for programme details, pricing, and participant selection.

info@visionera.tech
visionera.tech