Building a Greener Circular Future: Fengcheng Conference Explores New Pathways for "Urban Mining"

The People's Government of Fengcheng City, Jiangxi Province

FENGCHENG, China, Oct. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The second Circular Economy Industry Innovation and Development Conference convened recently in Fengcheng, Jiangxi Province, bringing together more than 200 officials, researchers, industry association representatives and executives from leading firms to advance high-value recycling of "urban mining" resources.

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.

Centered on the theme "Linking Urban Mining, Forging a Green Circular Economy," the conference explored technological breakthroughs and industrial chain collaboration for recycled materials. It released the Report on the High-Value Development and Utilization of "Urban Mining".

Fengcheng has emerged as a national hub for green circular industries. Though the region holds no natural deposits of copper or aluminum, it has built a robust industrial ecosystem built around recycled copper, recycled aluminum and recycled plastics, backed by a mature recycling network.

Zhang Shuji, Party secretary of Fengcheng, said the city's circular industry generated 61.47 billion yuan in output value in 2025. For the first nine months of this year, output reached 51.35 billion yuan, up 14.5% year over year.

Local officials aim to upgrade the sector from basic recycling and processing into high-end new materials and finished manufacturing under the 15th Five-Year Plan, seeking to grow circular economy into Fengcheng's first 100-billion-yuan industry.

The conference serves as a national forum for circular economy innovation. Jiang Biao, a researcher with the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, noted that AI servers and computing hardware will soon reach end-of-life cycles, opening new opportunities for recovering valuable materials. Intelligent disassembly, green extraction and pilot testing technologies are poised to expand the sector's potential.

Wen Zongguo, an environmental professor at Tsinghua University, said his team's "Wuyu" vertical large model for resource recycling is being paired with satellite remote sensing, smart sorting gear, AI glasses and inspection robot dogs. The suite of tools applies artificial intelligence to resource detection, materials processing and corporate operations.

Organizers also rolled out the China Brand Global Tour (Fengcheng) program to support local brands going global.

The event was co-hosted by Xinhua Daily Telegraph and the Xinhua News Agency Jiangxi Branch, with the Fengcheng Municipal Party Committee and the People's Government of Fengcheng City as the organizer.

Contact person: Mr. Wang, Tel: 86-10-63074558