From 17 to 21 October 2026, Wendy Perry will travel to Hangzhou, China, undertaking five days of high-level engagement inside one of Asia’s most advanced AI and robotics ecosystems. It is a significant mission for the state’s AI sector, and a timely one.
The programme has been designed for substance rather than spectacle. In place of conference stages and exhibition halls, Wendy will be hosted by listed technology leaders, industrial manufacturers, a national pilot base and one of China’s leading engineering universities: the environments where AI and robotics move from prototype to production.
The mission has three clear objectives: to observe applied AI at commercial scale, to present Australian capability to senior figures in Chinese industry and academia, and to establish relationships that lead to lasting, practical collaboration.
It comes at a pivotal moment as Australia is making AI a central economic priority, and the challenge now is converting that commitment into adoption, skills and export-ready businesses. Few places offer a more instructive benchmark than Hangzhou.
Why Hangzhou?
Hangzhou has become a global reference point for applied AI, robotics and connected devices. Long known as the home of Alibaba, the capital of Zhejiang province is now associated with a cluster of fast-rising firms nicknamed the Six Little Dragons: DeepSeek, Unitree, DEEP Robotics, Game Science, BrainCo and Manycore. Three were founded by Zhejiang University alumni. In August 2026, Unitree listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, ten years after starting in a 50-square-metre office in the city’s Binjiang district.
This growth is deliberate with Hangzhou’s Future Industries Development Plan (2025–2026) prioritising AI, the low-altitude (drone) economy, humanoid robotics, brain-inspired intelligence and synthetic biology. Zhejiang University introduced one of China’s first undergraduate AI degrees in 2018.
The ingredients will be familiar to Australians: a clear government signal, a strong university base and a deliberate effort to co-locate research and industry. The difference is scale and speed, and that is exactly what makes the comparison worthwhile.
Each visit has been selected to show AI and robotics in commercial use.
- Industrial drones. Xiang Long Technology builds industrial-grade unmanned aerial systems for disaster response, emergency rescue, logistics and environmental monitoring.
- Humanoid and quadruped robotics. Unitree designs and mass-produces high-performance quadruped and humanoid robots for consumer, research and industrial markets. RoboCT develops exoskeletons for healthcare, industry, safety, transport and recreation.
- AIoT platforms. Tuya Smart, listed in New York and Hong Kong, provides the hardware, cloud and app layer that turns everyday devices into connected products.
- Embodied intelligence. The National Pilot Base for Embodied Intelligence Applications (BOCA) integrates sensing, computing and motion control for smart city, industrial and education uses.
- Smart inspection and maintenance. Shen Hao, a listed company, supplies industrial robots and AI inspection systems for power grids, rail transit and industry.
Where industry meets education
Wendy will also visit the China Australia Smart Innovation Institute at Beihang University, joining a discussion between AI industry representatives and students and meeting University Director Prof. Dong and his senior management team.
For anyone working in skills and workforce development, this is often where the most valuable insight sits. Technology moves fast and the real question is whether people, training systems and institutions can keep pace.
Case Studies: Hangzhou and South Australia Side by Side
Several themes on the itinerary already have strong local counterparts, and comparing them is where the most useful learning sits.
- Drones and smart inspection
Shen Hao’s grid inspection systems and Xiang Long’s industrial drones tackle a challenge South Australia knows well. SA Power Networks manages a distribution network of nearly 180,000 square kilometres, with 30% of customers in regional and remote areas.
In 2024, SA Power Networks and Australian drone manufacturer Carbonix completed Australia’s first commercial Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) powerline inspection, covering 150 kilometres of lines in remote South Australia. The utility is also building a robotics program to automate asset data collection and develop in-house drone and robotics skills.
The lesson to look for: how Hangzhou firms combine hardware, AI analysis and maintenance workflows at scale, and what that means for the workforce behind them.
- Embodied AI and robotic vision
BOCA brings sensing, computing and motion control together for real-world deployment. In Adelaide, the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) at Lot Fourteen leads research in robotic vision, trusted autonomous systems and 3D modelling.
AIML was established in 2018 through co-investment by the South Australian Government and the University of Adelaide and is Australia’s largest university-based machine learning group.
The lesson to look for: how research translates into products quickly, and how pilot bases de-risk early deployment.
- Policy signal and precinct strategy
Hangzhou’s Future Industries plan names AI and humanoid robotics as priorities. South Australia has sent its own signal, with a dedicated Minister for Artificial Intelligence, a $28 million investment in capability and adoption, and an Office for Artificial Intelligence, alongside Lot Fourteen and Tonsley as innovation precincts.
The lesson to look for: how top-down commitment converts into bottom-up adoption by small and medium businesses.
- Relationships built over decades
South Australia’s engagement with China has deep roots. The sister-state relationship with Shandong began in 1986 and reaches its 40th anniversary in 2026, while Adelaide and Qingdao formalised a Friendly City relationship in 2001.
The lesson to look for: how links built on trade, education and people-to-people exchange can extend into technology, with university partnerships such as the institute at Beihang as one model.
What This Means for Australian Business and Workforce
- For AI companies: where are we already competitive, and where is the gap in commercialisation and scale?
- For employers: which roles change first when drones, robotics and AIoT move into daily operations?
- For educators and trainers: what skills and microcredentials will industry need in the next three to five years?
- For government and industry bodies: how do we turn policy commitment into adoption by small and medium businesses?
- For everyone: which international partnerships make sense, and which simply offer valuable perspective?
Technology adoption is never just a technology project. It is a workforce, skills and leadership challenge, and that is where strategic workforce planning becomes the capability that makes innovation stick.
Follow the Journey
Wendy will share observations from Hangzhou throughout the week, followed by a full reflection on what the delegation learned and where the opportunities lie for South Australia.
With more than three decades working alongside governments, industry, education providers and entrepreneurs in Australia and internationally, Wendy brings a practical lens to every engagement: connecting workforce, skills, innovation and economic development.
Ways to connect
- Speaking and facilitation: book Wendy to share insights from Hangzhou with your conference, board or leadership team through keynotes and moderation.
- Strategic Workforce Planning for AI adoption: Workforce BluePrint helps organisations plan the skills and roles that make technology investment pay off.
- Future delegations and partnerships: Australian AI businesses, educators and industry leaders interested in future missions are welcome to get in touch.
Sources: Xiang Long Technology · Unitree Robotics · RoboCT · Tuya Smart · Shen Hao · South China Morning Post: Hangzhou’s Six Little Dragons · Unitree Robotics (Wikipedia) · SA Power Networks: Carbonix BVLOS mission · Lot Fourteen: AIML · Governor of South Australia: 40 years with Shandong · City of Adelaide: Qingdao.