The 2023 China Qingdao Overseas Returnee Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition recently concluded at the media center in Qingdao's Shinan district.

The competition aims to gather investment and entrepreneurial resources and highlight opportunities from both domestic and international sources. Its purpose is to stimulate entrepreneurship among returnees, while also providing a high-quality platform in Qingdao for them to showcase their skills, enhance their capabilities, and connect with others.

This edition of the competition saw a record-breaking 235 projects from overseas returnees across the globe. The overseas division received 130 entries from over 30 countries, while the domestic division received 105 entries.

Zhang Meirong is the first-prize winner of this Qingdao Overseas Returnee Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition and also the co-founder and general manager of Huaxia Biotech.

"Qingdao values talent entrepreneurship and has placed significant emphasis on it. We have benefited from government subsidies after setting up our operations in the Qingdao National High-tech Industrial Development Zone. Our goal is to attract more young overseas returnees to join our team and help us advance our projects in the future," Zhang said.

The launch of the Qingdao Overseas Talent Station was also announced during the ceremony.

Currently, eight participating projects in the competition have plans to set up operations in Qingdao.