On April 23, the launch event for the China International College Students' Innovation Competition (2026) "Youth Red Dream-Building Journey" was held at the West Square of the South Pylon Park of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. Attendees included Huai Jinpeng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of Education; Liu Xiaotao, Deputy Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Jiangsu Province; Xu Qingsen, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Minister of Education; Zhou Hongbo, Member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provindial Party Committee and Secretary of the Nanjing Municipal Party Committee; Xu Ying, Member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Minister of the Provincial Publicity Department; Vice Governor Zhao Yan; Tan Zhemin, President of Nanjing University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Zhao Jianjun, Secretary-General of the Provincial Government.
Huai Jinpeng pointed out that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the "Red Journey." Under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important letter in reply, millions of college students have followed in Xi Jinping's footsteps, from Yan'an to Gutian, from Jinggangshan to the Hongqi Canal, from Tianjin Port to Shanghai Commercial Aircraft, continuing the red bloodline and practicing innovative dreams, writing brilliant chapters worthy of the era and history with their youth. Young students should promote the spirit of their predecessors' hard work, strive to write vivid stories of youthful dedication to the country, continue to practice their original aspirations and fulfill their missions through persistent efforts, serve the country and grassroots with practical actions, respond to the times and lead the future with innovative breakthroughs, passing the baton from one generation to the next, working hard and striving for innovation, growing into a vanguard of promoting Chinese modernization and leading the future development of the world, contributing youthful strength and vitality to the great journey of building a strong nation.
Liu Xiaotao congratulated the launch of the event and welcomed all the guests. He expressed hope that the vast number of students would draw courage from Jiangsu's rich revolutionary heritage, bravely forge new paths like their predecessors, deeply research new situations at the grassroots level, solve new problems, feel the pulse of modernization, explore the growth of new productive forces, and listen to the voices of enterprises and the public. He sincerely invited college students from across the country to come to Jiangsu, transforming the red spirit into entrepreneurial motivation, allowing youthful dreams to resonate with Jiangsu's development, and achieving their own splendid lives in the modernization construction of the new Jiangsu characterized by "strength, prosperity, beauty, and high standards."
Huai Jinpeng, Liu Xiaotao, Zhou Hongbo, Xu Ying, Zhao Yan, and Tan Zhemin jointly launched the "Youth Red Dream-Building Journey." Xu Qingsen presented the flag to the "Red Journey" students.
The event vividly showcased the spirit and demeanor of generations of "Red Journey" youth as they grew in wisdom and ability through innovation and entrepreneurship, and honed their will and character through hard work, inspiring young students to inherit the spirit of self-reliance and independent innovation, integrating youthful efforts into the journey of building a strong nation.
