Zibo city – located in East China's Shandong province – is ramping up efforts to create a better environment for the development of its young people, a process begun in recent years.
"The fact that Zibo was honored as a national pilot city for the construction of youth development and elected into the first batch of youth-friendly cities in the province, has added new impetus and vitality to the transformation and leap forwards of the old industrial city," said Mayor Zhao Qingwen, deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, which is taking place in Beijing.
Zhao Qingwen, deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and mayor of Zibo. [Photo/WeChat account: cnpeople2016]
Since June 2022, Zibo has rolled out a raft of subsidies and policies to support young talent, releasing funds totaling 1.18 billion yuan ($171.90 million) in the last three years.
High-quality platforms have been created to encourage youth innovation and entrepreneurship, with 25 sci-tech business incubators and maker spaces. To promote city-university integrated development, Zibo has forged cooperative agreements with Shandong University, Shandong University of Science and Technology, as well as promoted the construction of education-industry integration bases.
For young folks, Zibo has sought to provide all-round services and assurances in areas like political participation, children’s education, and living environment to increase their sense of belonging.
In addition, a more dynamic city with diverse recreational and sports activities is under construction. Overall, Zibo will act to meet the demands of young people and aims to construct a demonstration city for youth development.
