Chongqing's Changshou District Cements Ambition as New Materials Hub with Major Talent Summit

Chongqing, China – In a significant push to bolster its advanced materials sector, Chongqing’s Changshou District hosted the New Materials Industry Talent Development Conference from November 14th to 15th. The event, a cornerstone of the broader Chongqing International Talent Exchange Forum, drew approximately 400 global industry leaders, top academics, and corporate representatives to strategize on the future of this critical industry.

Photo by Li Hui/Chongqing Changshou District Integrated Media Center

Under the theme “Gathering Talents for New Materials, Collaborating for a New Future,” the conference served as a key platform for mapping out a high-quality development blueprint. It was jointly organized by local government bodies, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, and the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, with academic support from several leading universities.

The agenda featured in-depth discussions on development trends and strategic priorities for the sector, anticipated to be central to China’s next five-year plan (2026-2030).

“Talents are the ‘primary resource’ for industrial advancement,” stated Academician Zhang Lianmeng, a chief professor at Wuhan University of Technology. “By proactively building an international talent platform, Chongqing is not just injecting innovation into its local ecosystem but is also pioneering a model for the entire nation.”

The international dimension was underscored by Ma Juan, President of Steinbeis China. “Changshou is more than a hub for a trillion-yuan materials industry; it’s a paradigm of integrating global resources with local expertise,” she commented, outlining plans to deepen the “localization of international resources and the globalization of local innovations” to establish Changshou as a pivotal nexus for global technology transfer and talent.

Photo by Li Hui/Chongqing Changshou District Integrated Media Center

The conference yielded substantial concrete outcomes. Thirty enterprises from the broader Chongqing region established a New Materials Industry Talent Development Innovation Alliance, aimed at creating a comprehensive talent ecosystem. Furthermore, a regional talent “Opportunity List” was unveiled, detailing 428 high-quality positions across 246 key companies.

Significant milestones to support high-end research were also achieved, including the accreditation of new National Postdoctoral Research Workstations. The event also served as a launchpad for eight key industrial projects, securing a combined investment of 4.16 billion RMB ($574 million) in sectors like chemical and metal new materials. In a direct boost to the talent pipeline, seven companies signed agreements with a cohort of newly recruited young PhDs.

The summit’s appeal to the next generation of researchers was evident as 47 doctoral candidates from top-tier institutions, including Tsinghua University and the National University of Singapore, toured local facilities and explored career opportunities.

This year marks the third consecutive year Changshou has held the conference, signaling a long-term commitment. Jiang Xia, Party Secretary of Changshou District, articulated a clear vision: “Changshou is catalyzing a remarkable transformation from basic chemicals to advanced materials. Our industrial cluster is generating multiplicative growth, and we are transitioning from being a follower to a pacesetter in the field.” He pledged to foster “a first-class entrepreneurial environment” to attract global talent in building a core hub for a trillion-yuan advanced materials industry.