Amid intensified global technology competition and with hard technology becoming the core driving force of a new wave of industrial transformation, Hongqiao has once again sent a strong signal—bringing together top sci-tech innovation talent across the globe and building a global hub for hard-tech innovation.

Recently, the “NEXT S, Global Talents Converge at Hongqiao” International Hard-Tech Entrepreneurship Event was held in Shanghai. At the event, the Hongqiao Innovation Hub for Global Elite Alumni and the Shanghai leg of Founders Forum China were officially launched, marking a key step for Hongqiao in connecting global innovation resources and building an international sci-tech innovation ecosystem.

As an important force that has long promoted China’s international exchanges and global sci-tech communication, the Oriental Translation Institute (Orientaltrans for short) got deeply involved in the event’s international exchange and communication support work. It leveraged its professional language capabilities and international communication experience to support China’s hard-tech innovation and dialogue with the world.

I. Launch of International Platform: Hongqiao Becomes a “Convergence Point” for Hard Tech

This event was characterized by a clear focus on “internationalization, hard technology, and entrepreneurial orientation”:

• The Hongqiao Innovation Hub for Global Elite Alumni, leveraging the research strength and alumni networks of Tsinghua University, Imperial College London, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), aims to build a normalized and internationalized exchange platform for hard-tech entrepreneurship, and provide sci-tech innovation talent with full-chain support ranging from technical exchange to commercialization of achievements.

• The official launch of the Shanghai leg of Founders Forum China has opened a direct channel for Chinese hard-tech entrepreneurs to connect with the world’s top entrepreneurs, investors, and industrial resources, further enhancing Shanghai’s position within the global innovation network.

Ren Jia, Chairman of SIMIC InnoSpring, stated that in the future they will continually bring together top global innovation resources, and deepen hard-tech entrepreneurship incubation services, with a view to contributing to the building of Shanghai into a globally influential sci-tech innovation hub.

II. Frontier Insights: Hard Tech in 2026 Will Move Toward “Integration”

Several experts and scholars from colleges, universities and research institutions in China and abroad made forward-looking judgments on future trends in hard-tech entrepreneurship:

• He Hu, Associate Professor at the School of Integrated Circuits, Tsinghua University, pointed out that with the deep integration of artificial intelligence and integrated circuits, interdisciplinary entrepreneurship will become a trend. Embodied intelligent robots, AIoT, edge computing, and generative AI will generate substantial demand for customized chips, which will open up new opportunities for startups.

• Qilei Song, Associate Professor at Imperial College London, believes that new energy and new materials will remain important directions for hard-tech entrepreneurship, adding that particularly in long-duration energy storage, hydrogen conversion, and key membrane materials, China has already established globally leading industrial chain advantages.

• Professor Qian Wenxin from the HKUST Shanghai Center stressed that future hard-tech entrepreneurship will place greater emphasis on deep integration with real industrial scenarios and require stronger cross-disciplinary collaboration capabilities of entrepreneurs.

III. China Opportunities in the Eyes of Overseas Entrepreneurs

Several overseas entrepreneurs expressed strong recognition of China’s hard-tech ecosystem at the event.

• Benjamin Swerner, Chief Operating Officer of Relation Therapeutics, stated that China’s biotechnology industry has achieved explosive growth over the past five years, providing broad collaboration opportunities for AI-driven innovative enterprises.

• Matthew Millar, founder of Vertus Energy, is optimistic about China’s new energy manufacturing and R&D as it has leading advantages, and hopes to engage in deep cooperation with Chinese partners in environmental protection and energy conversion technologies.

• Andrei Danescu, founder and CEO of Dexory, opined that China’s well-established manufacturing system and enterprises’ openness toward new technologies provide the world’s best testing ground for robotics innovation.

IV. Orientaltrans Enables Hard Tech to “Be Understood by the World”

In such a high-density, highly specialized, and strongly international exchange setting, language is not merely a tool, but also the critical infrastructure connecting innovation with the world.

Orientaltrans provided professional support primarily in the following areas for the event:

• Strengthening international communication and external outreach to convey core concepts, policy information, and technological achievements in accurate, professional, and international ways;

• Providing interpretation service in hard technology, covering cutting-edge fields such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, new energy, new materials, and biomedicine, ensuring the rigor and international readability of technical expressions;

• Enhancing cross-cultural understanding and collaboration, helping overseas entrepreneurs and researchers better understand China’s sci-tech innovation environment, and enabling China’s innovation stories to get on the international stage more effectively.

We have always believed that:

To truly go global, hard technology must be both technologically sound and precisely communicated.

Advancing with innovation will make the world truly understand China.

Starting from Hongqiao, China’s hard technology is accelerating its integration into the global innovation network.

Orientaltrans will continually align with national strategic needs, promote technological innovation and international exchange, and strengthen its efforts in areas such as technology interpretation, international communication, and think-tank language services.

If you are advancing:

• The internationalization of hard-tech achievements;

• International roadshows, cross-border cooperation, and overseas communication;

• Multilingual expression of high-end technology;

Follow Orientaltrans and join us in helping the world better understand Chinese innovation.

About Oriental Translation Institute (Orientaltrans)

Founded in 2006, Orientaltrans is a technology-driven language service provider offering conference interpreting, translation, remote and on-site simultaneous interpretation, equipment rental, conference planning, and professional training for senior translators and interpreters. It is a designated language service provider for key economic cooperation and cultural exchange projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a member of the Translators Association of China (TAC), a TAC-recognized provider of translation services in good standing, and a standing council member of the Cross-Cultural Editorial Committee of the Chinese Society of Editors. Leveraging cutting-edge technology, rigorous quality assurance protocols, and premium professional translation services, Orientaltrans has consistently held a leading position in China’s language services market and is widely trusted by clients at home and abroad.