China’s Factory Floors Become a New Due-Diligence Route for Global Technology Investors

Beijing, 3 September 2026 – China’s artificial-intelligence laboratories, robotics companies and electric-vehicle factories are drawing a growing stream of foreign investors and corporate executives seeking direct evidence of the country’s industrial capabilities. The visits have developed into a specialised technology-tour market as global decision-makers reassess competitive exposure, supply chains and potential investment partnerships.

Participants are paying as much as US$15,000 for multi-city programmes that provide access to companies and manufacturing sites across Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Hefei. Around half the participants in two recent investor and entrepreneur groups organised by one Shanghai-based research executive came from Southeast Asia, demonstrating the region’s close commercial interest in China’s technology ecosystem.