Mr. Shangkong | Shanghai redux: a tale of two global tech events, and one city

I felt a sense of déjà vu upon returning to the Kerry Hotel Pudong in Shanghai this week for the second high-profile global technology conference held there in as many months. 

As with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Asia in May, organisers of the Mobile World Congress Shanghai had chosen China’s financial hub and this particular hotel to launch their new Asia-centric show. The MWC is taking place at the hotel and the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) from Wednesday to Friday.

Also this week, ZTE, one of China's homegrown technology giants, chose Shanghai to host its annual global analyst conference, with over 100 industry analysts from around the world on the invite list. The company is headquartered in Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province.

In light of the high standing of these events, the choice of location begs the question: Why not Hong Kong?

For example, CES ranks as one of the world's most closely watched technology fairs. It is usually held in Las Vegas, but for the fair's Asian debut this year it chose China’s affluent east coast.

Of course, Shanghai has a rich and storied history. It was known as one of the top financial centres in Asia and the world in the 1920s and 1930s, when it was dubbed the “Paris of the Orient”.