To build a Hongqiao headquarters cluster for enterprises going global, the “New AI Era, New Blue Ocean for Entrepreneurship – 2026 Shanghai AI Going Global New Growth Summit” was held in Changning on April 23. The summit was guided by the Administrative Committee of the Hongqiao International Central Business District and the Changning District Government, hosted by Alibaba.com East China, and supported by the District Commerce Commission, Hongqiao Overseas Development Service Center, and East Hongqiao Group.

The summit brought together industry experts, entrepreneurs, and business representatives in Changning, attracting over 1,200 offline participants. Attendees explored new ways to empower cross border business with AI. The summit was also live streamed via WeChat Video Channel, reaching an online audience of 129,000.

The summit provided cutting edge insights and practical methodologies for the industry. On site, the 2026 latest trends and AI driven opportunities on Alibaba.com were interpreted in depth, helping companies position themselves early to seize market advantages. The summit also delivered a thorough analysis of global economic trends and new opportunities for China’s foreign trade, offering strategic decision making references for navigating the complex international environment. A comprehensive introduction was given on how intelligent tools and professional services can decode a new paradigm of foreign trade growth in the AI era, empowering enterprises to go global efficiently.

An interactive zone was set up outside the main venue, enabling companies to quickly get hands on experience with “ACCIO WORK,” Alibaba.com’s first enterprise level AI agent platform launched overseas, which is also a cross border business workspace specifically designed for small and medium sized enterprises. “This AI agent represents a major breakthrough in our AI application efforts. It aims to be a ‘super assistant’ for foreign trade, integrating core functions such as market insights, smart product listing, advertising diagnostics, shop diagnostics, and customer engagement. In the future, it will be connected to all e commerce channels, allowing merchants to customize their own agents based on their business workflows, thus achieving fully AI driven operations across the entire chain,” said a staff member of Alibaba.com.

The summit sent a clear message: AI technology is shifting from “high threshold” to “accessible for all.” One participant remarked: “We used to think AI was a future concept, but today we see it is already an immediate necessity. Whoever embraces AI first will gain the first mover advantage on the global stage.” The summit offered solid content and an immersive experience, with many attendees noting that they had benefited greatly.

As the only central urban district within Shanghai’s portion of the Hongqiao International Open Hub, Changning enjoys a unique location and international resources. It is a bearer of major strategies, a preferred destination for investment and business, and a launchpad for enterprises going global. Changning has consistently focused on brand building, deepened its digital economy, actively fostered a full chain going global ecosystem, connected overseas service resources, and comprehensively driven industrial upgrading. The district has seen various new paradigms of going global, including “brand going global,” “blocks going global,” and “industry going global.” Changning is committed to building a benchmark headquarters zone, establishing a “15 minute going global service circle,” and forming a “10+10” matrix of government services and market oriented professional services to support enterprises in their overseas expansion. The recently released “Changning District Embodied Intelligence and Agent Industry Map” further illustrates the district’s graded AI industry spatial pattern: “R&D in the east, manufacturing in the west, and application aggregation in the center.” With AI as the engine and going global as the path, Changning will continue to seek new spaces for cooperation with enterprises and help the regional economy reach a higher level.

Deputy District Director Zhao Yongzun attended the event and delivered a speech.