The closing ceremony of the 13th Returnees Forum was held in Changsha. Eight projects reached implementation intentions and signed contracts.

China News Service, Changsha, September 24 (Liu Man and Zhong Xinjue) On September 23, the closing ceremony of the 13th Returnees Forum was held in Wangcheng District, Changsha City. The winning projects in the finals of the project competition were announced and awards were given on site. Eight returnee entrepreneurial projects reached implementation intentions and signed contracts on the spot.

On September 23, the closing ceremony of the 13th Returnees Forum was held in Wangcheng District, Changsha City. Photo courtesy of Hunan Provincial Committee of Zhi Gong Party

This year's Returnees Forum has officially upgraded the project competition to the "Daze Lake Cup" International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. The competition is closely related to the artificial intelligence track. A total of more than 200 scientific and technological innovation projects were collected for competition, and 14 award-winning projects were selected. Hu Xusheng, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress and chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Zhi Gong Party, presented awards to the contestants of the "Shenzhou Guard Security Inspection Robot" project who won the first prize.

As one of the award-winning projects, the "New Generation Hydrogen Powered Unmanned Boat Based on Solid Hydrogen Fuel Cell" project was signed on site and settled in Wangcheng District, Changsha City. "Changsha has a relatively good foundation for intelligent manufacturing, and relevant preferential policies can also bring real help." Hu Kun, the person in charge of the project, said that more than 30 hydrogen-powered unmanned boats have been exported to Portuguese-speaking countries via Macao this year. The signing of this contract is mainly to arrange the production base in Changsha, thus forming a closed business loop of scientific research at Sun Yat-sen University, manufacturing in Changsha, and Macao's Sino-Portuguese market promotion.

Project signing. Photo courtesy of Hunan Provincial Committee of Zhi Gong Party

The main activities of this overseas returnee forum are included in the 2026 Haichuang Forum, relying on the overseas Chinese work brand of the Zhi Gong Party Central Committee to achieve national-level platform empowerment and brand improvement and upgrading. The forum gathered more than 1,000 positions in demand from more than 80 units across the province; the Changsha Special Recruitment Fair for Returnees gathered 78 companies and more than 2,000 positions. More than 30 returnees reached entry agreements and more than 500 people reached signing intentions; after continuous docking, 20 returnee Ph.D.s were prompted to sign entry agreements.

Tian Zongzhi, full-time deputy chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Zhi Gong Party, said that this returnee forum brings together the sincerity and wisdom of many returnee elites and demonstrates the spirit of the times of openness, sharing, and win-win cooperation. It is not only a valuable platform for returnee friends to exchange ideas and share experiences, but also a vivid practice to unite the hearts and minds of overseas Chinese and tell the Hunan chapter of the Chinese story. The organizing committee will continue to track the docking and promote the implementation of projects and talent results. (over)