WUHAN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 young people from around the world gathered in central China's Hubei Province on Tuesday to explore how creative economy and trendy culture can drive urban development, promote global collaboration and breathe new life into traditional cultures.
The discussions took place during the Thematic Forum on Creative Economy and Trendy Culture, a key segment of the 2026 World Youth Development Forum held in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei, this week.
"Young people are the most dynamic and creative group in society, and they are the pioneers of creative expression," said Wang Yi, vice president of the All-China Youth Federation.
China's creative and cultural consumption market is projected to exceed 670 billion U.S. dollars by 2029, highlighting the immense potential of the sector, Wang added.
Participants viewed youth-led innovation, rooted in cultural heritage and supported by international cooperation, as a core driver for urban transformation and the source of new forms of consumption.
Aytan Aliyeva, president of the Great Silk Way International Youth Union, said the creative economy, shaped by youth imagination and digital technologies, spans multiple sectors and offers young people worldwide broad opportunities for low-cost entrepreneurship.
Trendy culture continuously empowers social transformation and industrial upgrading, effectively boosting employment, increasing incomes, and stimulating economic vitality, Aliyeva added.
For many young creators, cultural products have become a medium for cross-cultural dialogue.
"Consumers no longer just buy the product itself. They want to know the story behind it, which makes cultural products a medium for communication," said Yann Colleu, a young French porcelain artist and Ph.D. student at Jingdezhen Ceramic University, who has co-founded a Sino-French ceramic design company.
French clients frequently express their desire to visit China to better understand China's ceramic culture, while Chinese clients often say that they hope to learn more about French artistic traditions, he added.
The 2026 World Youth Development Forum, themed "Youth Drive Development for a Better World," has drawn over 500 participants from UN agencies, international youth organizations, and more than 120 countries and regions.
Alongside the creative economy and trendy culture session, the forum also features discussions on artificial intelligence and youth empowerment, as well as volunteerism and poverty reduction. ■
