2026 Global Online Gathering of Overseas Chinese Automotive Engineers Kicks Off in Hefei

On the evening of November 7, the 2026 Global Connection of Overseas Chinese Automotive Engineers kicked off at Hefei University of Technology. The event is part of the 2026 International Conference on Industry-University-Research-Application Cooperation (Hefei) International New Energy and Intelligent Vehicle Conference, hosted by the Global Alliance of Overseas Chinese Society of Automotive Engineers (GAOCSAE), and is held in a combined format of offline venue and online livestreaming. The evening's program featured an opening ceremony, six keynote speeches, and a roundtable discussion. The opening ceremony was moderated by Long Jiancheng, Dean of the School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering at Hefei University of Technology. Hong Richang, Vice President of Hefei University of Technology, delivered remarks. Chris Mason, Chief Executive Officer of the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies (FISITA), delivered remarks via video. Xu Hongming, Chairman of the Global Alliance of Overseas Chinese Society of Automotive Engineers (GAOCSAE) and Professor at the University of Birmingham, UK, delivered remarks on behalf of the alliance. The keynote speech session was divided into two groups, moderated respectively by Tao Jianbo and Du Shangfeng, with six speakers presenting: Song Songkai, Founder and President of France's SHUJI Company, presented on behalf of Wang Shanjin, President of the French Association of Chinese Automotive Engineers and Chassis Technology Expert at Renault Group, the report "Major Transformations and New Cooperation Landscape in China-Europe Automotive Industry"; Chen Lihe, Chairman of Germany's Dewin Holding and Vice President of the German Association of Chinese Automotive Engineers, presented "Next-Generation Wheel Technology: German Innovation Award TURBU Technology and Industrialization"; Du Shangfeng, Professor of Electrochemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, UK, and Vice Chairman of the Association of Chinese Professors in the UK, presented "Commercialization of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles in Europe"; Zhan Rijing, Founder of US-based Emissions Consulting Service and former Chief Engineer of Emissions Control at Southwest Research Institute, presented "Requirements and Countermeasures of US AI Data Centers for Internal Combustion Engine Emissions Control"; Tao Jianbo, former Vice President of the Austria-China Science and Technology Association and Chief Engineer of Autonomous Driving and Digitalization in China for an international automotive consulting firm, presented "Safe AI for Autonomous Driving — Standards, Regulations and Global Deployment Synergy"; Liu Minjun, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Beijing Shengqi Technology, presented "AI-Driven End-to-End Autonomous Driving R&D and Testing Platform." The roundtable forum, themed "Green and Intelligent Transformation of the Global Automotive Industry and International Collaborative Innovation," was moderated by Xu Hongming. Participants in the discussion included Huang Qiang, Distinguished Expert at the University of Bath, UK, and former Chief Engineer of Global Commercial Vehicles at Ford; Zhan Rijing; Zou Daqing, President of the North American Association of Chinese Automotive Engineers; Zhu Zhentao, Vice President of the Austria-China Science and Technology Association and President of the Austrian Association of Chinese Automotive Engineers; and Song Songkai. During the discussion, Huang Qiang, Zhan Rijing and others proposed exploring joint projects capable of producing phased results within 24 months. According to the event schedule, the Global Connection continued online exchanges on November 8 via the Gasgoo livestreaming platform.