On 2 April 2023, the 5th Yangtze River Delta Returnee Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit was held in Qingpu District, Shanghai. The summit was jointly hosted by the Western Returned Scholars Associations of Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui, organised by the United Front Work Department of the CPC Qingpu District Committee and the Youth Work Committee of the Western Returned Scholars Association Shanghai, and supported by the Shanghai Innovation & Entrepreneurship Youth 50 Forum. Under the theme "Integration Across Boundaries, Green Coexistence", young returnees from Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui gathered in the Demonstration Zone of Green and Integrated Ecological Development of the Yangtze River Delta to support the integrated green and low-carbon development of the region. Ms. Remoca Shi, Founder and Executive President of WeCarbon, was invited to attend.
Figure 1: Ms. Remoca Shi at the 5th Yangtze River Delta Returnee Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit
The summit comprised five sessions: the opening ceremony, plenary reports, keynote speeches, a roundtable discussion and the closing summary. During the summit, representatives of the four Western Returned Scholars Associations of the Yangtze River Delta jointly released the Yangtze River Delta Returnee Youth Green Initiative, calling on young returnees to hold firm to green and low-carbon development, accelerate the green transformation of development models and share contemporary China's green credentials with the world.
Figure 2: The 5th Yangtze River Delta Returnee Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit
Pei Gang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of the Western Returned Scholars Association Shanghai, attended and delivered the opening address, sharing his vision for green coexistence and the integrated ecological and green development of the Yangtze River Delta. Wu Zhiqiang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Counsellor of the Shanghai Municipal Government and Standing Vice President of the Western Returned Scholars Association Shanghai, delivered a plenary report titled "He-Ban Theory: Yangtze River Delta Innovation". The associations of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui will continue to strengthen cooperation and exchange, support young returnees in taking part in the development of green industries, and bring into play the distinctive role of overseas-educated talent in serving the national strategy for the integrated, high-quality development of the Yangtze River Delta.
Figure 3: Pei Gang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of the Western Returned Scholars Association Shanghai, delivers the opening address