Delegates experienced first-hand how Chinese institutions combine heritage, infrastructure and research commercialisation with advanced applications of artificial intelligence.

The day began at Ant Group’s headquarters, where the delegation toured the exhibition centre, which traced the company’s corporate history, milestones and key innovations since Alipay’s founding in 2004. The exhibition highlighted Ant’s evolution from powering payments for Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms into today’s global financial services provider serving over 1.7 billion users and 100 million merchants.

Following the exhibition, the group was received by Crystal Li, Senior Expert, AML Intelligent Innovation; Kiki Li, Expert, AML Intelligent Innovation; and Price Gu, Senior Anti-Money Laundering Expert, who presented Ant’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Centre.

Price Gu compared the AML team to a “special force unit” within Ant, focused on combating financial crime. He outlined the three pillars of Ant’s AML product ecosystem: sanctions screening, customer due diligence, and transaction monitoring. These operate in both online and offline modes, with data flowing into structured AML models. Alerts generated from suspicious activity monitoring are escalated to a case management platform for manual review before reports are filed with regulators.

Crystal and Kiki Li demonstrated Ant’s AI-powered regtech solution and explained how it integrates privacy-preserving computing, graph analysis, and big data into AML compliance. Delegates also saw broader applications of Ant’s AI, including AI twins of renowned doctors for healthcare consultation and real-time deepfake detection tools that distinguished authentic from synthetic media.

Delegates engaged actively with the presentation. One asked how Alipay’s new tap-to-pay function worked. The team explained it uses nearfield communication (NFC) and is fully integrated into the app. Questions also focused on OceanBase, Ant’s proprietary distributed database. The team noted that OceanBase had replaced legacy relational databases, supported peak transactions during shopping festivals for over a decade, and was already adopted by 60% of Chinese banks.

Further discussion explored interoperability of Alipay+ wallets for international travellers. Ant confirmed that overseas e-wallets such as GCash, TrueMoney and Touch ’n Go can be used in China through its partnerships. When asked about African adoption, the team explained it depended on local partnership agreements.

The Ant team emphasised that its AML systems were not only about meeting regulatory requirements but also about protecting customers and safeguarding trust across its global network.

At PingPong’s headquarters, the delegation toured its 16-storey building, which included a central stairwell connecting all levels, a sports hall and gym for employees, and a shark-filled aquarium symbolising the company’s philosophy of resilience and competition.

Following the tour, Alex Chen, Vice President, APAC and Head of Global Partnerships, briefed the delegation. He outlined PingPong’s development since 2015 from a start-up into a global payments infrastructure provider. Today, PingPong processes more than $100 billion annually and serves over one million merchants across 200 markets.

Chen explained that PingPong is focused exclusively on business-to-business (B2B) rather than consumer payments. Its solutions include virtual accounts, cross-border collection and payout services, foreign exchange (FX) risk management, merchant financing, and checkout capabilities. PingPong has become one of Amazon’s largest global partners and has also built relationships with e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Rakuten, Coupang, and the “four dragons” of Chinese e-commerce — Shein, Temu, TikTok and AliExpress.

Delegates asked how PingPong compared with other models. Chen clarified that Alipay is consumer-facing, while PingPong is infrastructure for merchants to receive and move funds internationally. Another participant asked whether sellers without a United States (US) or European Union (EU) entity could use PingPong. Chen confirmed that PingPong’s virtual accounts allow merchants to collect funds directly from platforms like Amazon and repatriate them.

Delegates also asked about licensing and partnerships. Chen explained that PingPong holds licences in China, the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, enabling it to integrate directly with banks and platforms. He highlighted PingPong’s partnerships with Citi and CIMB, which have enabled settlement corridors in Southeast Asia and beyond.

The session closed with discussion on expansion into new regions, with Chen noting plans to extend further into Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

The final visit of the day was to the Zhejiang University-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center (ZJU-HIC). Delegates first toured the facilities, which showcased how the university’s innovation ecosystem supports technology transfer and commercialisation.

Zhang Chen Chen welcomed the delegation and introduced ZJU-HIC as the university’s largest industrialisation hub outside its main campus. Its four focus areas are synthetic biology, advanced materials, instrumentation and equipment.

She highlighted Zhejiang University’s scale and history, marking its 128th anniversary this year, with 40 colleges, seven affiliated hospitals and multiple research institutes. At HIC, over 15,000 patents have been filed, with more than 4,700 licensed and 4,000 transferred. Around 192 companies have been incubated, supported by proof-of-concept funding, office space and shared laboratory facilities.

Delegates asked how incubators divide their resources across the four ecosystems. Zhang explained that both the Future Plus and ZJU Plus incubators cover all four areas rather than specialising. Others asked about international collaborations, with Zhang citing joint labs with European universities and partnerships with over ten global institutions. On patent transfer, she noted that ZJU-HIC provides technology transfer funds and sometimes takes equity stakes in startups to help research groups commercialise their innovations.

The session concluded with examples of robotics and chemistry labs co-developed with local companies and the centre’s global innovation competitions, where winning projects gain funding and incubation support.

Day 3 in Hangzhou highlighted the integration of compliance, payments and research within China’s innovation ecosystem. At Ant Group, delegates saw how AI-powered systems underpin global trust in digital payments through AML and compliance. At PingPong, they learned how a fintech built global-scale infrastructure to serve e-commerce merchants. At Zhejiang University, they observed how academic research is turned into industrial applications through structured support and international collaboration.

The delegation ended the day with a night flight to Shenzhen, beginning the next leg of the tour and a closer look at China’s technology hubs.