AI at a Crossroads: Join the 12th CEIBS Europe Forum 2026 in Brussels
Artificial intelligence is no longer a niche technology story. It is a systemic force rewriting industrial models, national strategies, and the architecture of global governance — all at once.
Against this backdrop, the 12th CEIBS Europe Forum convenes on 24 June 2026, simultaneously in Brussels and Shanghai, to ask a question that carries the weight of civilisation: how should Europe and China work together to innovate while safeguarding shared human values?
Why now — and why Brussels?
Europe and China occupy distinct but deeply entangled positions in the AI sector. China, along with the United States, is at the frontier of large language models, embodied intelligence, and industrial AI at scale. Europe, with its unique institutional heritage, has emerged as the world’s most influential architect of AI governance, ethical frameworks, and regulatory standards.
The Forum recognises a genuine strategic complementarity here: China brings massive application scenarios, engineering depth, and industrial reach; Europe offers robust governance systems, regulatory expertise, and the credibility of trusted technology frameworks. At a moment of heightened geopolitical tension and technology fragmentation, this pairing is not just opportune; it may be essential.
Brussels, the nerve centre of European regulation, and Shanghai, a driving engine of China’s innovation ecosystem, are the natural twin venues for this exchange.
Event details
| Date | Wednesday, 24 June 2026 |
| Format | Dual-city live event |
| Brussels venue | Résidence Palace, Rue de la Loi 155, 1040 Brussels |
| Shanghai venue | 699 Hongfeng Road, Pudong, Shanghai |
| Organiser | China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) |
| Host (Brussels) | Prof. Frank Bournois, Co-President, CEIBS |
A programme built for depth
The Brussels programme — running from 9:00 to 13:10 CEST — opens with welcome addresses from CEIBS President Prof. Wang Hong and Gwenn Sonck of the EU-China Business Association, followed by an opening address from Chinese Ambassador Cai Run. Four substantive sessions will carry the conversation from geopolitical context down to industrial application and the next generation of AI practitioners.
CEIBS Europe Forum 2026 Agenda Highlights · Brussels (CEST)
| 09:20–09:40 | Keynote: The Global Order in the Age of AI
Prof. Charles Michel — Former President, European Council; Former PM of Belgium; Distinguished Professor, CEIBS |
| 09:40–10:00 | Keynote: Balancing Regulation and Innovation
Prof. Andrea Renda — Head of CEPS GRID Unit; Visiting Professor, College of Europe, Bruges |
| 10:00–10:30 | High-level Dialogue: AI Pathways for China-Europe Cooperation
Moderated by Ivan Hodac, Founder & Chairman, Aspen Institute Brussels |
| 10:30–11:30 | Panel: AI & the Reshaping of Industries
Voices from Unitree Robotics, Siemens AG, ZF Group, ChinaEU, and CEIBS |
| 11:30–12:00 | Future Leaders Dialogue: AI Natives’ Outlook
Featuring voices from the World Economic Forum and Creao AI |
| 12:00–12:10 | Closing Remarks
Prof. Eric Cornuel — President, EFMD Global; Vice-Chairman, CEIBS Board of Directors · Fang Dongkui — Secretary General, CCCEU |
| 12:10–13:10 | Networking Reception
Open networking among participants from both venues |
* Speakers are subject to change.
Who is in the room
The speaker lineup spans the full spectrum, from former heads of state to robotics executives, from AI governance scholars to startup founders. Confirmed Brussels-side speakers include:
- Charles Michel: Former President, European Council; Former Prime Minister of Belgium
- Andrea Renda: Head, CEPS GRID Unit; Visiting Professor, College of Europe
- Dita Charanzová: Former VP, European Parliament; Senior Advisor, AI Policy & Digital Governance
- Ivan Hodac: Founder & Chairman, Aspen Institute Brussels
- Luigi Gambardella: President, ChinaEU; Former Chairman, ETNO
- Alexander Tschentscher: Head of Supply Chain Strategy, Siemens AG
- Jef Vandenbergen: SCALAR Head of Operations & Cloud, ZF Group
- David Timis: AI Energy Impact Fellow, World Economic Forum
- Eric Cornuel: President, EFMD Global; Vice-Chairman, CEIBS Board of Directors
Joining from Shanghai are Prof. Fang Yue (Director, CEIBS AIMI Research Centre), Song Haitao (President, Shanghai AI Research Institute), Li Binjie (SVP, Unitree Robotics), and Clark Gao (Co-founder & CPO, Creao AI).
From dialogue to structural synergy
The Forum’s ambitions are deliberately concrete. Beyond generating conversation, the organisers aim to move EU-China AI cooperation from conceptual exchange toward regulatory consensus and shared industrial value creation. That means identifying not just where Europe and China agree, but where their complementary strengths can be combined, in manufacturing, energy, healthcare, finance, and urban systems, to produce outcomes neither could achieve alone.
As AI continues to embed itself in the sinews of modern societies, the conversations that shape its governance and deployment matter enormously. The 12th CEIBS Europe Forum aims to make those conversations happen at the highest level, and in the right rooms.
Register now or discover more information about the 12th CEIBS Europe Forum, which will take place on Wednesday, 24 June 2026, simultaneously at the International Press Centre, Résidence Palace, Brussels, and CEIBS Shanghai campus. Organised by CEIBS with support from the CEIBS AIMI Research Centre, EU-China Business Association, CCCEU, Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, and ChinaEU.
For additional insights, announcements and perspectives, visit the conversation on Business Education.
