Cross-Strait youth conference opens in Jiangxi to promote cooperation, employment

The 2025 Cross-Strait Youth Exchange and Development Conference opened on Thursday in Jiujiang City, east China's Jiangxi Province, bringing together some 300 participants to discuss how to deepen cooperation and promote youth exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

With over 180 guests from Taiwan, the event, themed "Building Dreams Together, Creating the Future Together," focused on strengthening ties between Jiangxi and Taiwan, while offering youth from both sides opportunities of employment and entrepreneurship.

As part of the event, a job fair presented over 300 job openings, ranging from traditional roles like accountants and product managers to emerging positions in artificial intelligence and algorithm development.

The conference also saw the signing of a memorandum on cooperation and the announcement of the second Jiangxi-Taiwan Youth Short Video Creation Exchange.

Additionally, a salon on youth employment and entrepreneurship provided a platform for dialogue, while activities such as the Jiangxi-Taiwan Tennis Friendship Match further promoted cross-Strait exchanges.

Jiangxi's commitment to strengthening ties with Taiwan is evident in its ongoing efforts to host the Jiangxi-Taiwan conference, this time being its 19th edition. The province has also established several cross-Strait exchange bases, attracting an increasing number of Taiwanese youth to explore opportunities in Jiangxi.

Cross-Strait youth conference opens in Jiangxi to promote cooperation, employment

China's movie industry is increasingly deriving its earnings from broader consumer economy.

Released during the 2025 summer season, the film "Nobody" became China's highest-grossing two-dimensional animated film -- and its success went beyond theaters.

Through licensing and brand partnerships, the movie has generated 2.5 billion yuan (about 358.3 million U.S. dollars) in retail sales to consumers, with more than 800 licensed products on the market.

Ranging from plush toys to food and home goods, the movie-related merchandise can be purchased from over 3,000 online and offline outlets.

Meanwhile, souvenir stores are crowded at Shanghai Disneyland's Zootopia themed land, with hats, plush toys, and collectibles seeing steady demand from visitors.

"China's film industry is no longer defined by box office revenue alone. It has become a new growth engine that links and energizes multiple cultural sectors. At the heart of every successful film is strong storytelling. High-quality productions create cultural value, which in turn enhances the commercial value of intellectual property and opens up new consumption opportunities. I believe China's film industry delivered an outstanding performance in the past year," said Chen Xiaoda, vice dean of Shanghai Vancouver Film School.

Film IP fuels expansion of consumer market