China Expert | Author | Keynote Speaker
Pascal Coppens is a leading expert on China, with deep expertise in innovation, technology, and geopolitical trends. With a background as a sinologist and serial tech entrepreneur, he provides fact-based insights on China’s evolving role in the world.
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Pascal Coppens is a sought-after keynote speaker and author on innovation, leadership, and China’s global impact. He holds a Master’s in Eastern Languages and Cultures from Ghent University and a Bachelor’s in Business Engineering from the Solvay Business School (Free University of Brussels). From 1996 onward, he spent over 20 years in China and Silicon Valley, building and managing high-tech ventures and collaborating with hundreds of Chinese engineers and innovators.
In 1999, Pascal was selected by the European Commission to participate in the EU-China Junior Manager Training Programme, a prestigious MBA-style initiative to foster cross-cultural leadership. He served as chair of the participant cohort during this program.
He began his tech career in China at Shanghai Bell (Alcatel JV), and later joined Wind River Systems in San Francisco as Global Product Marketing Manager. He co-founded PolyCore Software in Silicon Valley in 2004, and then returned to Shanghai to support the market entry of European deep-tech companies across Asia.
In 2010, he launched Letsface, China’s first offline digital community platform for premium global brands. In 2017, he returned to his home country, Belgium, to lead Sinnolabs, a growth accelerator supporting Belgian scale-ups in entering the Chinese market. Today, he is a partner at nexxworks and an international speaker, with recognised expertise in Chinese innovation, digital ecosystems, and leadership dynamics. He has had the privilege of working with an impressive list of clients from various industries.
Pascal is the author of two widely praised books: China’s New Normal and Can We Trust China?, which explore China’s innovation capabilities and global positioning. His third book China’s Next Miracle will be available end of 2025 and unveils how China is flipping the model of innovation. He engages a community of over 80,000 followers via social media and a monthly newsletter focused on Chinese innovation, and is a regular expert guest on European and Chinese radio and television.
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