Deep-Sea industry technology competition set to launch in Sanya

The 2026 Sanya Deep Sea Technology Industry Division of the 5th Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition of the Western Returned Scholars Association is set for Sept 21-22 in the Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City (YZBSTC) high-tech zone in Sanya.

Since its launch, the event has drawn great interest from overseas returnees and tech innovation teams. A total of 251 projects have been submitted from 27 cities across China and from countries including Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Germany, Canada, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Italy, Finland, the UK, Brazil and France.

The projects center on deep-sea technology and related cutting-edge fields. These include marine and underwater technology, AI and deep-sea intelligent equipment manufacturing, new energy and environmental protection, deep-sea materials and marine biopharmaceuticals. They highlight the rich innovation and industrial potential in the deep-sea tech sector.

The competition's significance is anchored in the dynamic innovation environment of the YZBSTC high-tech zone in Sanya. As a core hub for deep-sea tech innovation in the Hainan Free Trade Port, the zone features unique deep-water port resources like Nanshan Port.

It has attracted national-level deep-sea research platforms and leading companies, creating a full industrial ecosystem from deep-sea equipment research and development to marine biopharmaceuticals and resource development.

Hosting the competition here not only aligns the event with the industry but also provides a direct path for projects to move from competition to market.

An aerial view of the Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City high-tech zone. [Photo/Sanya Daily]

To attract and support top-notch deep-sea tech projects, the YZBSTC high-tech zone offers extensive industry connections and incubation services for projects setting up in the area.

Financially, the competition offers a prize pool of 660,000 yuan ($98,340) to reward winning projects directly. A multi-layered financial support system is also in place to provide comprehensive capital support from startup to scale-up. In addition, eligible full-time high-level professionals can receive up to 4 million yuan in rewards.