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BEIJING: Humanoid robots working on factory floors, AI models challenging global rivals and electric-vehicle plants churning out cars at breathtaking scale are drawing a new wave of foreign visitors to China.<\/strong><\/p>\n Investors and entrepreneurs are paying thousands of dollars for rare access to Chinese factories, seeking \u200ba front-row seat to what many believe could be the next technological revolution.<\/span><\/p>\n The influx reflects mounting fears of a \u201cChina shock 2.0\u201d, with Western boardrooms and capitals confronting the possibility that Chinese companies are seizing the lead \u200cin advanced manufacturing and cutting-edge technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cRight now, people are looking at China as an object of study and learning \u2014 a trend that barely existed just a few years ago,\u201d says Robert Wu, CEO of Shanghai-based data research firm Baiguan. He noted that visitors often arrive with misconceptions \u2014 for instance, assuming China\u2019s robotaxi sector leads the U.S., when domestic policy caution around potential job losses actually keeps it a step behind.<\/span><\/p>\n Wu has organised two tours for more than two dozen investors, entrepreneurs and executives so far, charging up to $15,000 for a five-day programme. Around half the participants came \u200bfrom Southeast Asia.<\/span><\/p>\n He is part of a growing cottage industry catering to foreign demand for first-hand access to China\u2019s innovation ecosystem.<\/span><\/p>\n Many attendees avoid publicising their visits. Among those known to have made the trip are U.S. investment firms \u200bDimension, Capital Group and Thrive Capital, as well as U.S. tech podcaster Lex Fridman.<\/span><\/p>\n While data on tech tours is scarce, broader industrial tourism is booming. China\u2019s industrial tourism sector pulled \u2060in $17.8 billion last year, according to state media, and is projected to blow past 300 billion yuan ($44.6 billion) by 2029.<\/span><\/p>\n Shanghai-based tech tour agency GloPen says inquiries jumped 50% in 2026 from mostly European and Singaporean clients, and it now runs over 100 \u200bsingle-day company tours every month.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot grasp the true scale, speed, and physicality of Chinese innovation without standing on the factory floor,\u201d says Bertrand Chen, CEO of the Global Shipping Business Network, who joined an April three-city robotics and emerging tech tour \u200borganised by Chinese American investor Rui Ma.<\/span><\/p>\n Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China and organizer of 11 such tours since 2019, frames it as essential due diligence: \u201cEven if you\u2019re not actively investing in China, you\u2019re increasingly likely to encounter Chinese companies as competitors, partners, suppliers, or investments in markets around the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The circuit spans Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Hefei, the industrial powerhouses at the heart of China\u2019s electric-vehicle, battery, AI and robotics boom.<\/span><\/p>\n World leaders have also flocked to Xiaomi\u2019s Beijing auto factory, while Germany\u2019s Chancellor Friedrich Merz was famously filmed watching Unitree\u2019s tab dancing humanoid robots in Hangzhou, \u200ba high-profile showcase of the country\u2019s technological ascent.<\/span><\/p>\n None of this is happening by accident.<\/span><\/p>\n Beijing has explicitly pledged to \u201cvigorously promote\u201d industrial tourism, designating over 140 official demonstration sites. A growing number of factories are offering public tours at around $60 a \u200bpop.<\/span><\/p>\n Xiaomi\u2019s EV factory has welcomed more than 250,000 visitors since March 2024. Demand is so intense that lottery-awarded entry slots are scalped online for up to 2,000 yuan ($300).<\/span><\/p>\n Xiaomi told Reuters in a statement that eligibility for visits is determined through an online lottery and tickets \u200ccannot be transferred.<\/span><\/p>\n For \u2060European executives wrestling with sluggish productivity growth and fears of falling behind in AI and robotics, China has become a particularly important destination.<\/span><\/p>\n Alex Shengyun Lu, a Shanghai-based AI consultant at Praxis Advisory, has led seven delegations of up to 50 corporate visitors since late 2025 and describes an uneasy mood.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe smartest people in Europe are acutely aware of the situation. The insecurity is palpable,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n Executives typically arrive seeking answers to two questions, Lu said: what they can learn from Chinese companies and from China\u2019s state-backed approach to technology investment.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey are coming here with a genuine mindset of humility and learning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Lu, who declined to name the companies due to confidentiality agreements, says many European executives want to understand how China coordinates AI deployment across provinces at scale and \u200bwhat lessons can be applied back home.<\/span><\/p>\n Still, some industry observers caution \u200bagainst overstating China\u2019s advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNon-Chinese (tech) companies still have most of \u2060the global market share, the most advanced IP, and the biggest profits,\u201d Tech Buzz founder Ma says.<\/span><\/p>\n Even so, the flow of tech pilgrims remains strong, including American visitors despite escalating U.S.-China technology tensions.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe people who are actually on the ground trying to build physical products don\u2019t care about the politics at all,\u201d says Joshua Woodard, a U.S. manufacturing consultant based in Shenzhen.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cU.S. robotics companies \u200bstill heavily source components and hardware from China. We pretend we can do it all ourselves in America, but it is incredibly hard to completely decouple.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n No city embodies \u200bthe trend more than Shenzhen.<\/span><\/p>\n The southern \u2060technology hub is positioning itself as a showcase for Chinese innovation as it prepares to host this year\u2019s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in November.<\/span><\/p>\n Foreign visitor numbers rose 70% last year, and jumped over 30% in the first quarter, with over 5 million entries recorded this year through August.<\/span><\/p>\n Taxis now carry English-language announcements and foreign influencers regularly appear at tech exhibitions. Local firms are even establishing Silicon Valley-style \u201chacker houses\u201d for foreign robotics and AI hardware entrepreneurs to live and work, according to Woodard.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere are WeChat groups with 400 people bouncing between \u2060Silicon Valley and \u200bShenzhen, casually crowdsourcing battery or display factories,\u201d says Woodard, who runs Shenzhen factory tours for foreign entrepreneurs in his spare time.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFounders are dropping in cold \u200bon the 10-day visa-free entry policy \u2026 just trying to suss out who can build their next prototype.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The influx highlights Shenzhen\u2019s transformation from a low-cost production hub to the front line of China\u2019s push for technological leadership.<\/span><\/p>\nFEAR OF FALLING BEHIND<\/span><\/h2>\n
SHENZHEN MOMENT<\/span><\/h2>\n