Business News

High-Level Talent Conference in Chongqing Draws Global Experts, Earning Praise as “One of the Best”

The 2025 Chongqing International Talent Exchange Conference opened on November 15, Attracting experts and innovators from Portugal, Serbia, Australia and the UK. The event focuses on deepening cooperation in science, technology, and innovation amid growing global demand for top-tier talent. Under the theme “Pooling Talent in New Chongqing, Joining Efforts for a New Future,” spotlights three key areas—conferences, featured activities, and talent recruitment.,to draw professionals, spur new innovation and entrepreneurship projects, and create a wide range of cooperation and matchmaking opportunities. The 2025 Chongqing International Talent Exchange Conference inChongqing on November 15. (Photo/Chen Zhan) "Gathering minds isn’t enough—collaboration wins" TThe opening day, speakers outlined new pathways for research collaboration, technology transfer, and the building of innovation ecosystems capable of supporting sustained development. They also described their strong impressions of Chongqing’s rapid progress , becoming increasingly attractive to high-tech companies and research institutions. Rodrigo Martins, President of the European Academy of Sciences and a professor at NOVA University Lisbon, said Chongqing stands as a city with scientific capability, openness, and rich cultural character. Martins noted that Chongqing has made technological innovation and talent cultivation a core strategy for development, investing heavily in policies and resources to attract researchers and support high-level innovation. “Chongqing has injected talent elements and scientific and technological resources to bring power and vitality to urban development, with remarkable results,” Martins said the European Academy of Sciences will set up its China Center at the Western (Chongqing) Science City, creating a new platform to advance China-Europe cooperation. The center will focus on areas such as transparent and flexible electronics, biosensing, intelligent terminals, and new materials, In interview with Bridging News, he noted that China，especially Chongqing is making significant strides in attracting the talent needed for major transformations. A strong innovation ecosystem depends on bringing together capable teams rather than relying on individual specialists. “Aggregating people is First;discuss with them is progress. We need to work together. That is the real success,” Martins said. Nurturing complementary research teams that share common goals is essential to turning innovation into real-world impact. Wajid Hussain, a research assistant at the Beijing Institute of Technology, said this was “one of the best.” He highlighted this event focused not only on innovation, but also on essential fields such as energy and other technologies the world depends on. “These are the real needs ” he said, meaningful global change ultimately relies on people. “To make all these transformations, we need talent.” From AI talents to real-world cooperation: key topics in focus The opening ceremony , Wang Xingxing, Founder, CEO and CTO of Unitree Robotics Co., Ltd., who spoke about building an innovation ecosystem for young scientific and technological talent. His company’s humanoid robot gained wide attention for its on-site demonstration . Wang said Unitree’s journey reflects broader shifts in the industry. “When the company was established in 2016, AI and robotics received very little attention. This industry is becoming increasingly popular The core reason Unitree has reached where it is today is outstanding talent,” he said,"Cultivating young talent depends on building an ecosystem that provides opportunities and support. “ “The biggest problem becomes to discover young people with potential and give them more staged support and opportunities,” he said, research funding / tech entrepreneurship competitions and start-up funds astools for nurturing new talent. Wang also described the possibilities of remote collaboration. “For example, a robot in Chongqing and 'm in Hangzhou, I can control my robot.By next year, my robot may stand on the stage, giving speeches or demonstrations.” Guests interacted with Unitree robotics at the 2025 Chongqing International Talent Exchange Conference. (Photo/Chen Zhan) Another speaker, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, Senior Professor of Oxford and Honorary Professor at Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, addressed the theme of “AI + Talent.” He shared data showing China’s growing role in the AI field. This August, the active users of Baidu, ByteDance, Tencent and Alibaba accounted for about 46 percent of the world’s . Among the top ten AI companies , six are from China. He noted that while China leads in user scale, the United States currently maintains an advantage in annual recurring revenue for AI start-ups. Marija Gnjatović, State Secretary at Serbia’s Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, highlighted the importance of commercializing scientific and technological advances. She said China is one of Serbia’s important partners, pointing to joint projects, youth talent exchange programs, and cooperation with institutions such as the Chongqing Academy of Sciences. “We can start with projects, such as transferring technology from Chongqing to Serbia in agriculture, satellite remote sensing, and quantum fields,” she said. As cooperation between China and Serbia deepens, Ivan Pavlovic of Science and Technology Park Nis said there is strong potential for further academic and scientific exchange. “We are very happy to exchange knowledge ，especially China’s tremendous growth over the past ten years.” He highlighted China’s progress in robotics, the automotive industry and new energy vehicles as areas of particular interest. Pavlovic said cooperation could expand into life sciences, biomedicine and artificial intelligence. “We also expectnot only talent mobility, but also the transfer of technology and knowledge in aerospace and new energy vehicles.” Chongqing invests 300M yuan in future tech projects The opening ceremony also kicked off Chongqing’s open competition for major research projects,. The selected projects are closely aligned with the city’s “416” science and technology innovation framework and its “33618” modern manufacturing cluster system. From integrated circuits, AI, smart vehicles, and robotics to precision medicine, innovative drugs, brain–computer interfaces, advanced materials, green manufacturing, new energy, and energy storage. otally 48 projects ，more than 300 million yuan (about 42.3 million U.S. dollars). Among them, 26projects will each receive over 5 million yuan, with the largest single award reaching 40 million yuan. Applications are open to universities, research institutes, enterprises and innovation consortia with strongcapacity and independent legal-person status in China or abroad. Applicants must demonstrate strong research performance and international influence, independent intellectual property rights relevant to their proposals. Project leaders must be full-time staff,teams are encouraged to work across entire industrial chains and with partners in industry, academia, and research to address key technological challenges. This can apply through the official websites of the Chongqing Municipal Science and Technology Bureau and the Chongqing Municipal Economic and Information Technology Commission. Six industrial talent development conferences were held, including new-generation electronic information manufacturing, intelligent and connected new-energy vehicles, artificial intelligence, life sciences, new materials and green low-carbon technologies. The conference unveiled and honored talent development platforms, including the Western China Center of the International Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance and the Western Talent Development Strategy Research Intelligence Alliance. Several agreements were signed, and new lists of talent opportunities and innovation outcomes were released, giving strong momentum to Chongqing’s efforts to build a globally influential hub for talent and innovation.