On the evening of September 6, 2026, the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei hosted a major online thematic publicity and interactive guidance event under the theme “Write the Chapter of Youth on the Motherland.” The gathering brought together academicians, experts, well-known entrepreneurs, role models of the times and young students for a shared class that was attended both online and offline.
The event was organized by the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Education, People’s Daily, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Communist Youth League Central Committee and the Anhui Provincial Cyberspace Affairs Committee. Its stage was designed not simply for speeches but for a conversation across generations about science, industry, responsibility and the long road from an idea in a laboratory to a product that can serve society.
For Anhui, that conversation has a particularly visible industrial backdrop: the province has become a major hub for automotive manufacturing and for the electric vehicle supply chain. The presence of four leading Anhui-linked automakers gave the event a clear industrial dimension, while the participation of senior scientists and young founders gave it a longer time horizon. The central message was that scientific ambition and industrial application are not competing goals. They are two parts of the same journey, especially in the fast-moving electric vehicle sector.
- A Campus Stage for Science, Industry and Youth
The event took place at a university long associated with basic research and with the training of scientists. Yet the program deliberately reached beyond the laboratory. It placed academicians beside entrepreneurs, placed established manufacturers beside young start-up founders, and placed stories of national sacrifice beside contemporary achievements in quantum technology and electric vehicle development.
The format reflected the theme. Instead of treating scientific research as an isolated activity, the event presented it as a foundation for industrial progress. Instead of treating the electric vehicle industry as merely a manufacturing story, it presented the sector as a test of patience, basic research, engineering discipline and long-term commitment. The audience of thousands of young students was asked to see both the “cold bench” of research and the competitive pressure of the market as parts of one national effort.
The gathering also showed how Anhui has linked its academic strengths with its industrial ambitions. The University of Science and Technology of China is a leading center for science and technology talent. Anhui is also home to a dense cluster of carmakers, battery suppliers, component companies and electric vehicle production lines. The combination has helped make the province a prominent player in China’s automotive and electric vehicle landscape.
At the same time, the event did not present success as automatic. Speaker after speaker described difficulty, doubt, long preparation and the need to keep going when results are uncertain. That message was especially relevant to students considering careers in science, engineering, manufacturing and the electric vehicle industry, where progress depends on both breakthrough ideas and thousands of incremental improvements.
- Three Relics and a Call to Endure the Long Road
Chang Jin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of the University of Science and Technology of China, delivered a speech titled “Eternal East Wind.” He began with three relics that carried the history of the university and the country into the room.
The first was the “Two Bombs, One Satellite Merit Medal” donated to the university by the wife of Guo Yonghuai. The second was a group of red bricks that teachers and students made with their own hands in 1970, when the university relocated to Hefei. The third was a set of photographs showing contemporary scientific and technological innovation achievements.
Together, the three relics told a story that moved from sacrifice to self-reliance and then to new ambition. Chang Jin told the students that they should carry the same concern for the country as the founding heroes of the “Two Bombs, One Satellite” effort, stand on their own feet like the earlier generation that made bricks for the relocated campus, and join today’s researchers in climbing new scientific peaks.
The message had direct relevance for the electric vehicle era. An electric vehicle is not the product of a single laboratory or a single factory. It depends on materials science, chemistry, power electronics, software, manufacturing precision, safety engineering and supply chain coordination. It also depends on researchers who are willing to spend years on problems that may not produce an immediate headline. The red bricks and the medal were reminders that durable industrial strength is built on durable scientific foundations.
For young students, the lesson was not that every research project must immediately become a product. The lesson was that patient research and practical application can reinforce each other. A strong electric vehicle industry needs both the person who studies a battery interface at the microscopic level and the engineer who improves a production line by a fraction of a second. The event placed both figures on the same stage.
- A 1959 Alumnus and the Long Bet on Electric Vehicles
Chen Liquan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a winner of the 2025 National Highest Science and Technology Award, returned to the university as a member of its 1959 entering class. He shared his experience in lithium battery research, a field that was once considered obscure.
Chen recalled that some people thought he was foolish to leave a conventional specialty and devote himself to battery research. He did not accept that judgment. He believed that China would one day popularize cars, especially electric vehicles, and that the country would eventually need batteries on a massive scale. His confidence was not based on a passing trend. It was based on a long-term view of technology, energy and industrial development.
“Without basic research from zero to one, and without the determination to sit on the cold bench for decades, how could China’s ‘new three’ achieve world leadership today?” Chen asked. His words connected the patient work of a researcher with the competitive position of Chinese manufacturing, including the electric vehicle and battery sectors.
At 86, Chen said he has a new ideal: “Electric China.” The idea covers the electrification of transportation, including electric vehicles, electric ships, electric aircraft and electric trains. He told the young students that he is already old, and that some of them will surely be more open-minded than he is. The future of “Electric China,” he said, depends on them.
The remark was both a handover and a challenge. The electric vehicle industry is often discussed in terms of sales, market share and new models. Chen’s perspective placed it within a broader transformation of how energy is used in transport. In that transformation, the electric vehicle is not only a consumer product. It is part of a larger system that includes batteries, charging infrastructure, power grids, materials and advanced manufacturing.
His speech also underlined why basic research matters to the electric vehicle sector. Improvements in battery energy density, safety, charging speed, cost and lifespan do not appear fully formed on an assembly line. They emerge from years of materials research, electrochemistry, testing and failure analysis. The ability to turn those improvements into reliable electric vehicle products requires another kind of patience: the patience of engineers who must test, refine and scale up.
- A Wider Academician Lineup and Stories of Sacrifice
The event also brought together a wider group of academicians, including Pan Jianwei, Shi Yunyu, Zhao Zhengguo, Chen Xianhui and Feng Donglai. They appeared with younger scientist representatives such as Lu Zhaoyang and Deng Yuhao to describe how several advanced technologies moved from absence to presence and from following others to leading in certain fields.
Their remarks encouraged young students to enter scientific “no man’s land” and to press forward on the road of serving the country through science and technology. The phrase “no man’s land” was fitting. Many of the technologies that support modern electric vehicle systems, from advanced materials to quantum-related research and high-performance computing, began as difficult questions rather than commercial certainties.
Wang Ji, a “Role Model of the Times,” described how he continued to devote himself to the cause of strengthening the military through science and technology after suffering a severe high amputation. His story emphasized perseverance, discipline and the determination to keep a promise made under the Party flag. The message was not abstract. It showed that innovation requires resilience when the body, the career or the project faces a severe setback.
Actor Yu Yang and actor Gao Weiguang presented the story of Wang Yuchang, a recipient of the July 1 Medal, and his loyalty to the Party. Actors Lin Yongjian, Zu Feng, Lin Jiangguo and Chuai Ni then recreated across time the patriotic stories of Qian Xuesen, Guo Yonghuai, Cheng Kaijia and other heroes of the “Two Bombs, One Satellite” effort.
These segments gave the event a historical depth. They reminded the audience that the scientific and industrial achievements celebrated today did not emerge from a vacuum. They were built on earlier generations’ willingness to work in difficult conditions, to remain unknown for long periods and to place national needs above personal comfort.
For the electric vehicle story, the connection is not decorative. A modern electric vehicle industry requires a large talent pool of researchers, engineers and technicians who can work on long timelines. It also requires institutions that can coordinate basic research, applied research and manufacturing. The historical stories gave the contemporary electric vehicle ambition a sense of proportion: major industrial transformations are not built in a single product cycle.
- The Anhui Car F4: Four Leaders, One Electric Vehicle Push
From individual struggle to industrial momentum, the “Cars From Anhui” segment became one of the most closely watched parts of the evening. Four automotive leaders with Anhui roots appeared together: Wang Chuanfu, chairman and president of BYD Group; Yin Tongyue, chairman of Chery Automobile Co., Ltd.; Li Bin, founder, chairman and CEO of NIO; and Xiang Xingchu, chairman and general manager of Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Holdings Co., Ltd.
The four are sometimes described as Anhui’s carmaking “F4.” Wang Chuanfu is from Wuwei in Wuhu. Yin Tongyue is from Chaohu in Hefei. Li Bin is from Taihu in Anqing. Xiang Xingchu is from Huoshan in Lu’an. Their companies represent different paths within the broader automotive and electric vehicle ecosystem, from mass-market and export-oriented manufacturing to premium electric vehicle development and commercial vehicle strength.
When asked how research talent can balance laboratory ideals with industrial reality, Wang Chuanfu gave an answer that framed the entire event. “Laboratories look up at the stars, while industrialization keeps its feet on the ground. The two have never been opposites,” he said. “Students should be willing to sit on the cold bench and study underlying mechanisms, and they should also be willing to face the real problems of industry. Turning the wisdom of the laboratory into products that ordinary people can use is exactly our mission.”
In the electric vehicle sector, that mission is visible at every stage. A battery chemistry breakthrough must survive safety tests, manufacturing tolerances and cost targets. A power electronics design must work reliably across different climates and driving conditions. A software update must be validated before it reaches millions of electric vehicle users. The distance from a laboratory result to a dependable electric vehicle is long, but it is exactly where industrial competitiveness is built.
Yin Tongyue described Chery’s culture of self-competition. He said the company competes with itself every day and always wants to push the previous second of itself onto the beach. He called this the hard-core “pk” of an engineering man. He also brought out the trophy for the United Kingdom’s 2026 Car of the Year award and said that, on average, every 16 seconds, a Chery vehicle goes overseas.
The export figure underlined the scale of Anhui’s automotive reach. For the electric vehicle industry, exports also mean exposure to diverse customer expectations, regulatory requirements and road conditions. Success abroad is not only a matter of volume. It requires quality, service, adaptation and brand trust. Chery’s global presence shows how a company from Anhui can compete in markets far beyond its home region.
Li Bin recalled that innovation has never been an easy road. NIO has experienced multiple challenges, and at critical moments Anhui provided support that helped the company emerge from a low point. Today, every mass-produced NIO vehicle is made in Anhui. At the event, Li Bin showed the company’s self-developed global first automotive-grade 5-nanometer chip, the Shenji NX9031.
The chip is a reminder that the electric vehicle is becoming a sophisticated computing platform as well as a means of transport. Advanced electric vehicle systems depend on semiconductors, sensors, software and data processing. A 5-nanometer automotive-grade chip represents a high level of integration and reliability requirements. Its development also shows why the electric vehicle industry needs talent in electronics, computer science and materials, not only in traditional mechanical engineering.
Xiang Xingchu delivered a confident message: “People from Anhui can build cars, and they can also build luxury cars.” He said that the University of Science and Technology of China is a cradle of top scientific and technological talent, and that the next decade of carmaking in Anhui has strong confidence and a promising future. His remark linked the state of the electric vehicle industry to the pipeline of young scientists and engineers being trained in the province.
Later, the four leaders brought top models from their companies into the campus for display. The move turned the abstract discussion of industrial ambition into something students could see up close. It also made the electric vehicle theme tangible: the vehicles on campus represented not only products but also supply chains, research programs, design teams, software platforms and manufacturing systems.
The display gave students a direct view of how the electric vehicle industry connects engineering disciplines. A modern electric vehicle brings together battery packs, electric motors, power electronics, thermal management, lightweight materials, sensors, computing platforms and charging systems. Behind each visible model is a long chain of suppliers and research teams. For a university audience, the message was clear: the electric vehicle sector is not only a place to buy a car or sell a car. It is a place to build a technical career.
- Anhui’s Electric Vehicle and Automotive Scorecard
The industrial scale behind the stage was reflected in official figures for Anhui in the first half of 2026. The province ranked first nationally in four automotive indicators: vehicle output, new energy vehicle output, vehicle exports and vehicle export value. The new energy vehicle category includes electric vehicle production and is central to the province’s automotive strategy.
Indicator January to June 2026 National ranking Vehicle output 1,686,700 units First New energy vehicle output 881,800 units First Vehicle exports 1,006,000 units First Vehicle export value 104.36 billion yuan First The table shows why Anhui’s electric vehicle story has drawn national attention. The province is not only producing vehicles at large scale. It is also producing new energy vehicles at large scale, exporting vehicles in large numbers and generating substantial export value. Those four indicators together suggest a broad industrial base rather than a single narrow success.
For the electric vehicle sector, the figures also point to the importance of coordination. High vehicle output requires reliable parts supply. High new energy vehicle output requires battery capacity, electric drive systems and electronic components. Strong exports require logistics, quality control and market adaptation. Export value reflects not only volume but also the mix of products and the strength of brands.
The event did not present these numbers as an end point. Instead, they formed the background for a discussion about talent. An electric vehicle industry of this scale needs thousands of researchers and engineers in materials, chemistry, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, software, artificial intelligence, industrial design and supply chain management. It also needs young people who can move between disciplines and between the laboratory and the factory floor.
Anhui’s position in the electric vehicle industry is therefore both an opportunity and a responsibility. The opportunity is that students can find challenging work close to home, in a sector that combines technology, manufacturing and global competition. The responsibility is that maintaining leadership requires continuous investment in research, education and industrial upgrading. The speakers at the event repeatedly returned to this point: scale can be built, but durable leadership must be earned again and again.
- Young Entrepreneurs Carry the Baton
The event also made room for a younger generation of founders. About a month before the gathering, He Yu, co-founder of Guoyi Quantum, had rung the bell for the company’s listing. Ten years earlier, while pursuing a doctorate at the University of Science and Technology of China, He Yu and his team founded Guoyi Quantum. Their first office was a 14-square-meter room at the university.
On September 5, He Yu told media that the startup began with a mentor’s words. China’s high-end instruments were constrained by others. One piece of equipment rose from 6 million yuan to 10 million yuan, and a repair could require a half-year queue. When he heard about temporary price increases and repair difficulties for imported instruments, he decided the next day to take part in solving the problem.
At the September 6 event, He Yu returned to his alma mater and spoke to younger students. He said Guoyi Quantum will continue to pursue its original aspiration and mission of building instruments for the country and will let China’s high-end scientific instruments compete with the strongest on a broader international stage. He thanked the university for its long-term training and support and hoped that more young people would devote themselves to science and technology innovation.
His story echoed the electric vehicle narrative in an important way. High-end scientific instruments, like electric vehicle technology, depend on precision, reliability and long-term accumulation. A single advanced instrument can require optics, electronics, software, materials and manufacturing expertise. The same is true of an electric vehicle platform, where a small improvement in efficiency or safety may depend on years of measurement, testing and refinement.
Next to speak was Liu Sizhe, who had just turned 18 in April. A student at the Special Class for the Gifted Youth at the University of Science and Technology of China, he is already the CEO of a science and technology startup. He did not discuss complex artificial intelligence algorithms. He spoke about his grandparents.
His grandfather was becoming increasingly silent, and his grandmother sometimes called him by the wrong name. These early signs of Alzheimer’s disease led him to start the “Forget-Me-Not” project. He said that at 18 he may not yet be able to accomplish something extraordinary, but a thousand-mile journey begins with the first step. He can use his technology to help the people around him.
“I believe that technological progress is not only about speed and precision, but also about the warmth behind it,” Liu said. “That is what I understand by the fearlessness of the young.” His words offered a counterpoint to the scale of the electric vehicle industry. Large electric vehicle supply chains and global export figures matter, but technology also has a human purpose. The best electric vehicle systems, like the best scientific instruments, are ultimately judged by how well they serve people.
The presence of He Yu and Liu Sizhe gave the event a sense of continuity. Senior scientists spoke of decades of research. Established automakers spoke of global competition and industrial scale. Young founders spoke of the first small office, the first difficult decision and the first attempt to turn a personal concern into a technical project. The baton was not passed in a single gesture. It was passed through examples.
- From Stage to Campus: Why the Message Matters for Electric Vehicle Talent
The event’s combination of science, industry and youth was particularly relevant to the electric vehicle sector because the sector is changing quickly. The competition is no longer only about producing a car with an electric motor and a battery. It is about software architecture, charging experience, safety, energy efficiency, manufacturing quality, supply chain resilience and brand trust. Each of these areas requires specialized talent and close cooperation across disciplines.
For students, the speakers offered a practical map. Wang Chuanfu’s call to combine laboratory ambition with industrial reality was one part of it. Chen Liquan’s long commitment to battery research was another. Li Bin’s account of overcoming challenges showed that innovation is not a straight line. Yin Tongyue’s emphasis on self-competition showed that even a successful company must keep raising its own standards. Xiang Xingchu’s confidence about the next decade showed that the region expects young talent to play a central role.
The electric vehicle industry also needs people who understand the social dimensions of technology. Liu Sizhe’s project on Alzheimer’s disease may not be an electric vehicle project, but it demonstrated a way of thinking that the electric vehicle sector also needs: start from a real human problem, use technology to address it, and measure success by the value delivered to people. An electric vehicle that is efficient but difficult to use, or advanced but unreliable, has not fully succeeded.
The event’s historical segments added another dimension. The “Two Bombs, One Satellite” stories showed that major national projects require coordination, sacrifice and a long view. The electric vehicle transition is not a wartime emergency, but it is a long and complex industrial transformation. It requires researchers who can work on fundamental problems, engineers who can scale solutions, entrepreneurs who can take risks and institutions that can support them through setbacks.
Anhui’s automotive figures provide a measure of how far the region has come. They do not answer the question of what comes next. That question was left to the young people in the audience. The speakers did not promise that success would be easy. They promised that the work would matter. For a student choosing a research direction or a career path, that may be the most useful message of all.
The campus display of vehicles gave the discussion a visible endpoint. A car on a university campus can appear to be a finished product. The event asked students to see the years of research, the thousands of components, the supply chains, the testing programs and the people behind it. In the electric vehicle era, the distance between a laboratory idea and a vehicle on the road is still long, but it is a road that more young people are being invited to travel.
- A Shared Road From Laboratory to Road
The evening closed with a program that moved from the stories of role models and older scientists to technical achievements in quantum technology and new energy vehicles, and then to intangible cultural heritage performances with distinctive Anhui characteristics, including the Four Treasures of the Study. The combination was not random. It reflected a view of innovation that includes science, industry, culture and responsibility.
The event called on young people to integrate individual goals into larger national goals and to write a more exciting chapter for their time. For the electric vehicle sector, that call has a concrete meaning. It means developing batteries with greater safety and efficiency. It means designing electric vehicle platforms that are reliable and affordable. It means building supply chains that can withstand shocks. It means turning research results into products that ordinary people can use.
It also means remembering why the work matters. An electric vehicle can reduce emissions, improve energy security and create new industrial opportunities. But the transition is not only a matter of technology. It affects workers, cities, consumers and future generations. The speakers at the event repeatedly emphasized responsibility, patience and service. Those values are as important to the electric vehicle industry as they are to basic science.
The four Anhui automotive leaders showed that the province has already built a strong position in vehicle production, new energy vehicle output and exports. The academicians showed that the position rests on decades of research and education. The young founders showed that the next generation is already starting companies, building instruments and using technology to address human needs. The students in the audience were left with a simple but demanding proposition: look up at the stars, keep your feet on the ground, and be willing to do the long work that turns knowledge into public value.
In the electric vehicle age, that proposition is not a slogan. It is a description of how a laboratory discovery becomes a battery, how a battery becomes a safe electric vehicle, how an electric vehicle becomes an export product and how an export product becomes part of a more sustainable transport system. The road from the laboratory to the road is long. The event made clear that Anhui intends to keep building it, and that young people are expected to help.