This month I took my first independent trip to China to explore the technology market in particularly focused on fintech. Thanks to Isabel Li and John McLean OBE for the invite.

1. The cities we covered were Beijing, Wuhan, Nanjing and then I did Hong Kong on my own. That included 3 flights, many trains and many hours on the road in between meetings. It was great to get into a driverless car again.
2. I now have a deeper understanding of the payments tech landscape that serves over 1 billion people. The scale is something that can not be underestimated. I was able to use my HSBC Global Money – Apple Pay wallet in all regions. Paying for taxis, museums, food and transport. I did also use cash but in all instances, I was able to pay at the best local rate.
3. Thank you to the fellow delegates who made the trip and we all know we can do one city in 48 hours and still have good humour. I did a little talk in Nanjing on the London technology ecosystem and what it has taken to build a world-class technology hub.
4. Visiting Zaha Hadid Architects – Leeza Soho and hearing from tech companies was great as well as a short trip to HQ.