On the afternoon of May 9, 2026, President Yang Xiaohua and Secretary-General Zhou Ping of the Belt and Road Shanghai Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland visited the Shanghai Yangpu Sci-Tech Innovation Association (SYSIA). The two organizations, which have cultivated a friendly working relationship through prior cooperation focused on Yangpu District, used the meeting to advance plans for a joint series of events: one track supporting Chinese companies going global, another attracting returning overseas Chinese talent. Together, these initiatives aim to expand a shared network encompassing alumni-anchored economic development and technology-driven innovation.

President Yang outlined Switzerland's industry advantages in high-end manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, and financial technology, and shared the chamber's practical experience guiding Chinese companies into European markets. Secretary-General Zhou then presented a preliminary framework covering event design, resource matchmaking, and implementation timelines. Xia Licheng, President of the SYSIA, emphasized the organization's platform reach—connections to over 100 universities worldwide and a community of more than 3,000 entrepreneurs—and detailed its strategy of leveraging alumni networks as a precise conduit for channeling China's innovation resources to international markets.

Outbound market expansion and inbound talent recruitment, the two parties agreed, are mutually reinforcing: together they can unlock international market access for Yangpu's sci-tech innovation enterprises and simultaneously facilitate the return of high-caliber overseas professionals and projects to the district. To that end, the two organizations plan to co-produce a series of salons, roadshows, and site visits addressing policy interpretation, cross-border investment and financing, and industry matchmaking.

Established in 2024, the SYSIA has built its identity on a simple but ambitious premise: rooted in Yangpu, connected to the world. Its core mission is to foster a sci-tech innovation ecosystem in which industry, academia, research, and investment are deeply integrated. The association's strengthened ties with the Belt and Road Shanghai Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland extend that vision into the international arena, opening new corridors for cooperation and injecting new momentum into the district's and Shanghai's pursuit of high-standard opening-up and technological innovation.