“It was impressive to see the pace of innovation in China,” said Mark Goldberg, a partner at Index Ventures, a venture capital firm. “Some of the newer technologies, like facial recognition software, can be very powerful, and will need to be deployed thoughtfully — not just in China, but also in the West.”

In August, Mr. Chan, Mr. Goldberg and 11 other Silicon Valley investors and start-up founders took a trip to Beijing and Shenzhen, two cities that are competing for the title of the Silicon Valley of China. Organized by the venture capital firms Basis Set Ventures, Index Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank, it was intended to help them understand how China has become a tech rival to the United States in barely two decades.

Silicon Valley once saw China as a copycat, but it now has some of the world’s biggest and most powerful internet companies. It has more unicorns, or privately held companies with valuations of over $1 billion, than the United States. The China offices of venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital now manage bigger funds than their American headquarters. Silicon Valley luminaries like Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital have been urging American entrepreneurs and investors to learn from China’s work ethic, ambition and technological advances.

The Americans got upfront lessons on how quickly China embraced mobile phones, electronic payments and video streaming, and how intensely it has pursued artificial intelligence.