The Third Annual Piper Jaffray China Internet and Technology Conference is now in progress in Beijing at the prestigious St. Regis Hotel and the theme of this year's event is ''Growing Pains and The Mainstreaming of China Tech.''

"This is a great forum for technology investors who want exposure in China. Given our focus on the entire Internet and technology supply chain, investors will have the opportunity to explore multiple areas," adds Safa Rashtchy, senior Internet and media marketing analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co.

The conference gathers hundreds of leading Chinese Internet and technology executives as well as the brightest entrepreneurs, industry experts, economists, and public and private investors. Two panels that are certain to generate interest among VCs include, ''The Portals and Online Publishers'' and another titled, ''The New Frontier: Search in China.'' Sohu.com's Chairman and CEO, Dr. Charles Zhang is one of the key presenters.

With a reputed 115 million Chinese online, there's increased VC confidence despite the blistering political attacks, that a US House of Representatives Subcommittee has launched on US companies - namely Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Cisco - for cooperating with China's internet regulations.