On July 24, 2026, the first China Pharma Innovation Conference (CPIC) came to a close. With 900 speakers from 22 countries, 127 exhibitors, and 13,000 registered participants, this industry conference made its debut in the global health industry conference series.

When China's innovative drugs hold nearly half of the global trading share, yet still rely solely on the JPM conference in San Francisco as their only benchmark, CPIC has answered the long-pending question: China needs its own home court.

Recently, the Tongxieyi team traveled to Qingdao to hold a post-mortem meeting. Below is a summary of founder Cheng Zengjiang's reflections on CPIC's journey from scratch to success.

Related reading: Freehand Blue Ocean New Journey | CPIC: Who Else But Us? Great Country, New Drugs, Reaching New Heights

TONACEA 01、 A Question for an Era

In September 2025, Shanghai. Cheng Zengjiang stood at the CAR-T conference site of Tongxieyi, with a bigger idea swirling in his mind.
China's biomedical industry is deeply embroiled in internal competition - homogenized targets, homogenized pipelines, and homogenized conferences. Dozens of platforms take turns on stage, with similar presenters, topics, and exhibitors. "It's just a matter of changing the place and time," just like PD-1s from different manufacturers. "I can't muster up interest or energy to attend such conferences anymore. They don't inspire our fighting spirit."

However, the opposite of internal competition is the blue ocean. The index of China's innovative drug licensing transactions has grown exponentially, and multinational corporations (MNCs) are systematically acquiring assets from China. In cutting-edge fields such as ADCs, bispecific antibodies, cell therapy, and even AI-based pharmaceuticals, China has become the most active supplier globally. The global hub for innovative drug transactions is shifting from a single American engine to a "dual engine" of China and the United States.

The problem lies here - China holds nearly half of the global trading share, yet it lacks a platform that matches its status. Every January, thousands of Chinese pharmaceutical company bosses fly to San Francisco, investing money and effort yet unable to enter the core circle; yet if they don't go, they fear being left behind by the times.

"Global innovation will definitely look to China," Yang Rui, Executive Director and Co-CEO of Kailaiying, later told Cheng Zengjiang.
The eye of the storm has formed. Who will be the one standing in the center of the storm?

TONACEA02、When the mission comes, who else but me

On December 21, 2025, Cheng Zengjiang met with Wu Xiaobin, the president of BeiGene. Wu Xiaobin said that every year, Chinese enterprises reach many deals at the JPM conference, but "all of them happen overseas, not domestically". China needs a platform of its own.

That night, Cheng Zengjiang made up his mind to become the Chinese version of JPM.

"Many people have asked me, 'Dr. Cheng, if you don't do it, who will?' Tong Xieyi has been established for 22 years, starting from a few people at a table to a conference with thousands or even tens of thousands of participants, always 'gathering top-notch talents from all over the world'. Its mission has evolved from 'where is the soul of China's new drugs' to 'leading China's new drugs and empowering innovative development', and now to 'building a Chinese version of JPM' - 20 years of accumulation have led to this conference.

The conference was named the "China Pharma Innovation Conference" (CPIC). Some said the name sounded grand, others said it sounded petty, and some even said it sounded "plagiaristic". Cheng Zengjiang thought none of that mattered, as long as the conference itself was well-organized.

2026 marks the 22nd anniversary of Tongxieyi. According to the schedule of the convention and exhibition center, the opening ceremony is scheduled for July 22nd - the "722 Storm" in 2015 ushered in the true spring of innovative drugs in China. The final number of participating countries is exactly 22. This year is Cheng Zengjiang's zodiac year, and some things have already been predetermined in a mysterious way.

During the pre-meeting mobilization, Cheng Zengjiang shouted, "CPIC, who else but me! Great country, new drugs, going global." During the closing group photo, he added a third sentence - "Great country, new drugs, reaching new heights." He translated "舍我其谁" as "I am the one" - "If I don't go at this time, who will?"

TONACEA03 、runs until its legs are exhausted and talks until its mouth is sore

Ideals are grand, but reality is harsh.

On January 9, 2026, the Tongxieyi planning team drew up an ecological partner map - MNCs, investment banks, banks, VCs, law firms, accounting firms, consulting institutions, arbitration institutions... "These institutions are miles away from me, where can I find them!" Cheng Zengjiang started visiting one by one.

He was "obsessed" with finding a domestic securities institution to cooperate with. Starting from January 21st, he made daily phone calls and paid repeated visits, but just as the Spring Festival approached, the other party was unable to make a decision, and there was no result until mid-March.

On February 5th, I went to talk with another American investment bank. They wanted to be a co-organizer, but they couldn't promise to contribute any overseas resources.

He has visited almost every reputable institution, from securities firms to banks, from law firms to investment institutions. "I visited several units in a single day, running myself ragged and talking myself hoarse. Most of the on-site discussions were positive, but there was no follow-up."

With just over a hundred days until the conference, the decision-making processes of large enterprises and institutions are lengthy. Some institutions do not accept participation from competitors in the same industry, while others lack budget plans. The most challenging aspect is recruiting foreign resources, given the limited time and absence of overseas communication channels, especially considering that the conference falls during the July and August holidays in Europe and America

It's really hard for Tong Xianyi to step out of his comfort zone for the first time. "As time goes by, I haven't implemented several cornerstone institutions, which is indeed frustrating."

TONACEA04 、The dawn is breaking

Cheng Zengjiang did not hesitate or worry about the outcome. He firmly believed that organizing such a conference was not a personal matter, but rather a matter for the Chinese innovative drug industry.

Planting flowers with care may not guarantee that all flowers will bloom, but they will eventually; planting willows without intention may not produce a shady grove, but it can still grow into a dense one.

Hard work pays off! Eventually, Legend Capital, Fangda Partners, Ernst & Young, WuXi AppTec, WuXi Biologics, Huawei Pharmaceuticals, and Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group successively appeared on the list of strategic cooperation partners; global senior vice presidents from Bayer, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Roche, Sanofi (who was about to deliver a video speech) and Astellas, as well as the chairmen of BeiGene and Bailitianheng, confirmed their attendance; core executives from institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, JunHe Partners, Meimei Si, Tianyuan Law Firm, RA Capital, and France Health Alliance all came - a JPM ecosystem was finally formed.

In preparation for the global conference, Tongxieyi established the official conference website, an official LinkedIn account, and a 1V1 online appointment system from scratch. During the post-event review, Cheng Zengjiang expressed special gratitude to numerous supporters such as Wang Jing from CanSino, Zhang Fenping from Genovac, and Chang Yan from InnoMed, saying that he "owed too many favors".

The first announcement was made on March 15th, and the presidium was established on April 11th.

The real surge occurred in the last month - on June 22, the first batch of 600 speakers was announced; on July 1, the full schedule was released, garnering 13,000 views; on July 10, the online press conference attracted tens of thousands of people; on July 13, the number of guest speakers exceeded 800, hailing from 22 countries; and on July 14, 900 speakers were announced.

In the last week, each post achieved a readership of over 5,000. On July 21st, "Opening Tomorrow" garnered 7,000 reads, while on July 22nd, the opening day, two posts achieved 5,000 and 11,500 reads respectively.

The conference truly attracted widespread attention.

TONACEA05 、"Bamboo nodes grow together"

Many people ask: How can it be done with only a hundred days in the preparation period?

Cheng Zengjiang used bamboo as a metaphor - each bamboo joint grows together, so it grows the fastest. The same goes for Tong Xieyi: he sets the direction, and the team quickly scales up.

The event team "knows which direction I am heading", the planning team "urges me to start working on it tomorrow", and the business team completes booth cooperation when the schedule only has a basic framework. "I am working on this section, the team is working on that section, and all the sections are growing together." For example, once the content is generated, it must be released on the same day.

He also used the analogy of biological medicine: he is DNA - setting the direction and starting point; his right-hand man translates DNA into RNA, which is the executable plan; the conference team turns RNA into protein - turning the plan into results. "This ability is formed through 20 years of hard work and accumulation from hundreds of meetings."

The exhibition board at the venue reads "Thousands of cranes rise with the tide, millions of people shine together." Thousands of guest speakers, over ten thousand participants, and 65 sessions - all planned and executed independently by the Tongxieyi team.

During the rehearsal on the evening of July 21st, Cheng Zengjiang said in the group chat, "I know everyone has reached their limits, and I'm with you all. Just hold on for three more days. Persistence is victory."

No one gave up.

TONACEA06 、we became

On July 22nd, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, CPIC 2026 presented its report card with 1 keynote session, 65 meetings, 22 countries, 900 speakers, 127 exhibitors, 13,000 registrants, and 15 dinners. As the first time it was held, it has already been included in the global industry conference series.

On the afternoon of July 23rd, the head of the planning team grabbed his hand and exclaimed, "Doctor, we did it! We did it! There were a lot of people at each venue, and everyone gave positive feedback. The exhibitors were also very satisfied."

An overseas guest said, "I will come again next year and bring my friends along."

Xu Xianfeng wrote after the meeting: "CPIC is one of the best conferences I have ever attended in the field of Chinese pharmaceutical innovation. With science, talent, and industrial foundation in place, the determination and hard work are self-evident. The first CPIC has left us with a wonderful snapshot of this industry standing at a critical turning point."

The 1V1 appointment negotiation is equally impressive. Over 3,000 precise matches have been made in the background, with more than 860 enterprises participating.

After attending the meeting, a young investor wrote, "The appointment negotiation really made me feel like this was a high-end exchange meeting in the pharmaceutical industry... You finally have the opportunity to meet this person." Usually, when looking at projects, what you see are business plans (BP) and data; only when you sit down face-to-face do you start to see the "team" from the "project". It may not necessarily lead to a deal in 30 minutes, but it can establish a connection - and then the story really begins.

The Original Innovative Drug Award represents another highlight.

Cheng Zengjiang finally figured out how to pay tribute to the "world's first and China's premiere" - having 10 chief analysts from securities firms vote and announce the results in one day. Academician Chen Kaixian announced the winners, and the chairmen or SVPs of the 7 award-winning companies took the stage, witnessed by Ernst & Young, with the Forbes China CEO standing on the podium.

TONACEA07 、Why is it you
 

At the debriefing meeting, Cheng Zengjiang asked, "Why you? I'm the one. Why you?"? ”

The first is mission. "Only with a mission can one take on responsibilities." The second is passion. "Passion is like a moth flying into a flame. So you won't be concerned about gains and losses, nor will you hesitate or look back." The third is ability. "Ability is accumulated, not achieved overnight."

He also mentioned "guarantee" - "No matter what position you are in, as long as you are a guarantee, you are the only person who can do it. A person who is a guarantee is an indispensable one."

Finally, he gave three sentences to the team: "There is always a force for growth, there is always an impulse to strive for better, and there is always confidence in competition."

TONACEA08 、Leading the Way

From generic drug consistency evaluation to dual filing of new drugs in China and the United States, from ADC to nuclear medicine, from BD going global to in vivo cell therapy - Tongxieyi has always been at the forefront of every technological wave. At this review meeting, Cheng Zengjiang proposed to turn "standing at the forefront" into "standing forever at the forefront".

CPIC 2026 is just the beginning. Cheng Zengjiang said that it will take about three years to truly establish CPIC's global influence.

"CPIC, a century-old company, who else could it be?".