---
title: "K-shaped divergence, how to break the deadlock? | The 20th China Investment Annual Conference · Annual Summit is about to kick off"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/282303451.md"
description: "The 20th China Investment Annual Conference will be held in Beijing from April 22 to 24, 2026, with the theme \"K-shaped Divergence, How to Break the Deadlock?\" The current perception of industry recovery varies, with some sectors, such as artificial intelligence, developing rapidly, while others face difficulties in funding and projects. The phenomenon of K-shaped recovery shows an increasing divergence in the circumstances of different groups, reflecting the results of 20 years of industry evolution. The conference aims to explore the complexities of the recovery process and its underlying causes"
datetime: "2026-04-10T07:10:33.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/282303451.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282303451.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/282303451.md)
---

# K-shaped divergence, how to break the deadlock? | The 20th China Investment Annual Conference · Annual Summit is about to kick off

Has the industry entered a "recovery cycle"?

The difficulty in answering this question lies in the fact that the experience of recovery has never been as uneven as it is today. Some are riding the wave of AI, while others are still struggling in the daily grind of "difficulty in obtaining funds, difficulty in investing in projects, and difficulty in exiting." Data from 2025 indeed supports an overall warming: an increase in the number of investments, growth in fundraising scale, and a visible surge in interest in artificial intelligence, commercial aerospace, and embodied intelligence. However, the age-old "complaints" have not dissipated; they coexist with the shiny data, creating a fragmented picture.

This is the meaning of "K-shaped recovery": beneath the overall improvement, the situations of different groups are acceleratingly diverging—two curves diverging upwards and downwards, with an increasingly deep chasm in between.

Compared to other recovery curves, the emergence of the K shape is better understood as a "proposition" rather than a "conclusion." It reminds us that recovery is not universal, divergence is still intensifying, and the complexities that have been set aside are far deeper than imagined. Is the primary market experiencing a K-shaped recovery? In the process of promoting recovery, what complexities have we overlooked? Where do the roots of the divergence lie?

From April 22 to 24, 2026, in Haidian, Beijing, the 20th China Investment Annual Conference and Annual Summit, hosted by Zero2IPO Group and Zero2IPO Network, will officially commence with these questions. We hope to dissect the underlying logic of K-shaped divergence and probe those truly important questions during this annual gathering.

-   **20 Years of Witness: Where Does Divergence Come From**

Looking back at the 20th China Investment Annual Conference, one answer is gradually becoming clear: today's K-shaped divergence did not appear out of thin air, but is a natural result of the industry's evolution over 20 years.

In 2007, when the first China Investment Annual Conference was held, China's private equity investment industry was still in its pioneering stage. At that time, foreign institutions dominated the market, local LPs had not yet formed, exit channels were singular, and venture capital was still a concept that needed repeated explanation. Over the next 20 years, the industry raced forward: the rise of RMB funds, the reform of the registration system reshaping exit logic, and the emergence of a batch of globally competitive companies in fields such as the internet, mobile internet, hard technology, biomedicine, and even artificial intelligence in recent years. As a result, China has become the second-largest private equity investment market in the world.

However, after the rush, divergence followed. Those who once shared the dividends began to move towards entirely different trajectories—this is the underlying color of the "K-shaped curve." Institutions on the rise often accumulate unique cognitive moats during the cycle; those struggling downwards may still be dependent on old dividends. Divergence is not an accident, but a necessary path for the industry to mature In the past twenty years, Touzhong Information has journeyed alongside China's private equity investment industry. From the early recording and sorting of the market to gradually establishing industry evaluation standards through the "Touzhong List," and then gathering industry consensus on the platform of the "China Investment Annual Conference," we have been both witnesses and participants. Each year's conference theme responds to the market focus of the time; each annual gathering is a pulse check on the industry. This year's "K-shaped curve" is both a questioning of the truth of recovery and a naming of the results of 20 years of evolution.

To understand today's K-shaped differentiation, we first need to clarify the underlying forces that shape it.

-   **Global Perspective: The Three Variables Behind Differentiation**

The formation of the K-shaped curve has never been due to a single factor.

The first variable is demographics. When the population structure undergoes fundamental changes, the underlying logic of consumption, employment, and industry is being rewritten. The "demographic dividend" that once supported growth is giving way to new constraints.

The second variable is geopolitics. The flow and rhythm of global capital are more difficult to predict than in the past decade. Competition and coordination coexist, decoupling and restructuring intertwine, and no market participant can remain aloof.

The third variable is technology. AI is penetrating various industries at an unprecedented speed, but the implementation of technology has never been linear; some ride the waves, while others are left behind, exacerbating differentiation.

This summit will start from these three variables, inviting observers and thinkers from different fields to jointly dissect the deep logic behind K-shaped differentiation. How do international investment institutions view the current cycle? How do technological thinkers judge the evolution of AI? How do scholars who study global governance interpret the direction of the world under changing circumstances? These questions will be addressed one by one during the summit.

The domestic perspective is equally indispensable. Experts and scholars will analyze the long-term driving forces of K-shaped differentiation from the demographic structure; dozens of managers from frontline investment institutions will also share their observations and responses amidst differentiation at various stages.

-   **Investment Frontline: How Methodology is Reshaped When Differentiation Becomes the Norm**

When K-shaped differentiation transforms from a phenomenon into the norm, the survival rules of investment institutions are also being redefined.

In the past year, every aspect from fundraising to exit, from track selection to post-investment empowerment has undergone reconstruction. Those institutions that have traversed cycles are all doing the same thing: re-examining their methodologies. How to find certainty in uncertainty? How to anchor one's position amidst differentiation?

During the summit, several key sessions will revolve around these topics.

**#Shiri Talks#** is a staple session of the annual conference. This year, Touzhong Information CEO Yang Xiaolei will engage in an in-depth dialogue with a top institutional guest who is most representative of 2025, presenting the thought trajectories of industry leaders. It is highly anticipated!

**#Summit Dialogue#** has always been the place for the most intense clash of ideas. This year's topic directly addresses current pain points: What are the underlying forces driving K-shaped differentiation? Can the structural slow bull of the secondary market infer the exit logic of the primary market? As LP demands become increasingly diverse, how can GP find that "greatest common divisor"? Mergers and acquisitions are becoming an important tool for navigating through cycles. A group of institutions that have been deeply engaged in the field of mergers and acquisitions for many years will discuss the "new ecology of mergers and acquisitions"—when the market enters a phase of consolidation, can mergers and acquisitions truly become that "upward path"?

In addition, **#NOVA FORUM#** will continue to focus on the subjectivity and intergenerational inheritance of the new generation of investors. Under themes such as "New Order, New Minds," "Beyond the K Curve," and "When Investors Are Redefined," young investors will share how they reshape investment logic in an era of differentiation and seek their own home ground.

As a significant prologue to the annual meeting, the in-depth video interview series **"Super Investors"** created by Zero2IPO Information will also be launched again before this summit. In 2026, the series will focus on the top forces in China's venture capital field—**"Best Return Investors,"** spotlighting industry leaders who have created individual project exits with returns exceeding USD 1 billion. Through in-depth dialogues, it will explore their unique insights in capturing super unicorns and review the decision-making logic and key moments behind hundredfold or even thousandfold returns. These thoughts from the "top" will resonate with the offline summit, jointly presenting the deep logic of investment decisions in the K-shaped era.

-   **Industry China: Where Does the Upward Curve Come From**

The "upward branch" of the K-shaped curve is largely driven by technological innovation.

**Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, High-end Manufacturing, Innovative Drugs**—these sectors are reshaping the industrial ecosystem and have become the main battleground for capital competition. On April 23rd, the summit will focus on the "Industry China" segment, attempting to penetrate concepts and directly address the real challenges and opportunities of industrial implementation.

In the "AI + Various Industries Special Session," the topics will extend from "can converse" to "can act," exploring the real paths of AI reconstructing industries. The "Robotics Special Session" will focus on technological breakthroughs, data bottlenecks, and scene implementation, questioning how far this industry is from past imaginations. The "High-end Manufacturing Special Session" will look overseas, discussing how Chinese manufacturing can break through in the global market. The "Innovative Drugs Special Session" will directly face the unresolved dilemma: how can GPs deeply empower Biotech and accompany them across the "Valley of Death."

Each dialogue attempts to answer the same question: where does the upward curve truly come from?

-   **Zero2IPO List 2025: Witnessing the Investment Power of the K-shaped Era**

As a barometer of China's private equity market, the **"Zero2IPO List · 2025 Annual Ranking"** will be grandly released during this summit. This list not only summarizes the industry dynamics of the past year but also witnesses the investment power in the K-shaped differentiation era. The list relies on feedback questionnaires from Zero2IPO JiaChuan CVSource and over a thousand active investment institutions in the private equity field, standardizing the questionnaire data for final ranking based on overall scores, detailing the dynamic changes in China's private equity market over the past year. From "Top 100 Best Venture Capital Institutions" to "Top 100 Best Private Equity Investment Institutions," from "Top 50 Best Early-stage Investment Institutions" to the fourth "Nova Rising Star Investor List," the "Zero2IPO List" will use data and cases to outline those who still adhere to value amidst the wave of differentiation Institutions and individuals traversing cycles.

At the same time, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the "China Investment Annual Conference," a special list has been added: the "20 Influential Figures in China's Venture Capital over 20 Years," honoring the leaders who have shaped the industry landscape over the past two decades.

The 20th session is not only a milestone but also a starting point.

In 20 years, China's private equity investment industry has evolved from pioneering to thriving, and then to differentiation. Looking back from this point, we have reason to feel gratified by the path we have traveled; however, the emergence of the K-shaped curve also reminds us that the road ahead is not smooth, differentiation is still intensifying, and complexity remains unresolved.

But precisely because of this, we need to sit down, engage in serious dialogue, deeply collide ideas, and think rationally—finding consensus amid differences and reshaping the future amid differentiation.

From April 22 to 24, 2026, in Haidian, Beijing, the 20th China Investment Annual Conference·Annual Summit looks forward to discussing the breakthrough path of the "K-shaped curve" era with you.

Event official website:

https://www.chinaventure.com.cn/meeting/special/202604/index.html

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