The 11th Belt and Road Summit opened on 9 September at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, jointly organised by the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. It closes on 10 September. The 2025 edition drew more than 6,200 participants from over 70 countries and regions, and this year’s programme lists over 100 officials, executives and professionals as speakers and panellists.
The opening session will get most of the coverage. The part with a deadline attached is the matchmaking, and it does not end when the hall closes.
Meetings continue online after the Summit
The Summit’s deal-making platform arranges 30-minute one-to-one meetings between investors, project owners and service providers. In-person sessions ran on 9 September and continue on 10 September from 10:00 to 17:30 Hong Kong time.
The meetings then move online on 14 and 15 September, each day from 10:00 to 22:00 Hong Kong time, which makes them workable from European and Middle Eastern time zones. Registration stays open until 15 September.
Two conditions apply. Deal-making is limited to registered Summit participants, so Summit registration has to come first. And both registrations need the same email address, otherwise the account will not verify. Organisers put the pipeline at more than 300 investment projects and over 800 one-to-one meetings.
A larger exhibition floor with five new zones
More than 120 exhibitors are on the floor this year. The Hong Kong Zone, Global Investment Zone, Chinese Mainland Zone and ASEAN Zone return. Five zones are new.
The University Zone gathers Hong Kong institutions around research, commercialisation and talent. The GreenTech Zone covers artificial intelligence, green technology and smart city applications. The GoGlobal Connect Zone brings together legal, accounting, finance, risk management and consultancy firms, aimed squarely at mainland companies expanding abroad. The Central Asia and Middle East Zones host consulates, agencies and company representatives from those two regions.
That last pair reflects where HKTDC has been spending its travel budget. Chief Executive John Lee said the GoGlobal Task Force, set up in October 2025, has helped more than 300 mainland enterprises establish or expand in Hong Kong, and that he has led delegations to 13 Belt and Road countries since 2022.
Kazakhstan leads the Central Asia pitch
On day one, Kazakh officials presented Alatau City and the Data Center Valley, covering smart city development, infrastructure and professional services. Vice Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Bakhtiyar Mukhametkaliyev and Alatau City Authority’s chief digital and AI officer Bayan Konirbayev fronted the session.
Project investment sessions across both days cover energy, natural resources and utilities, urban development, transport and logistics infrastructure, and innovation and technology, plus a new session on the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Memoranda of understanding were signed on the first day across finance, professional services, industry and construction, involving organisations from the Chinese mainland, Australia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar and Uzbekistan. More were due on day two.
Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, Uruguayan Vice President Carolina Cosse and Lao Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith spoke at the opening. Kommasith gave the clearest numbers of the session: the Laos-China Railway has carried over 70 million passengers and 90 million tonnes of freight since 2021, and Laos-China trade has passed US$9.8 billion.
The week is not over
Two events follow. ASEAN Market Day, new this year, runs on the afternoon of 10 September, with executives from Golden Resources, Gold Peak Technology, Lee Kee Group and Novostal covering practical experience in ASEAN markets. Attendees then move to the ASEAN Zone for consultations with HKTDC’s regional offices, ASEAN consulates general and trade associations. The Belt and Road Global Forum Annual Roundtable follows on the morning of 11 September.
For companies tracking Chinese and Hong Kong trade events, the Summit is worth watching for a second reason. HKTDC is building out Central Asia and Middle East programming across its whole event portfolio, and what shows up here as a themed zone tends to appear later as a standalone trade event.
Further reading: InvestHK’s Summit page and HKTDC.
