On August 30, to promote scientific and technological innovation in the fields of circular energy and resource recycling and to establish a high-level international academic exchange platform, the inaugural founding conference of the editorial board and the first plenary meeting of the editorial board for the English-language journal Circular Energy & Resources supervised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and hosted by the Guangzhou Institute of Energy, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIEC)—were held in Guangzhou in a hybrid online and offline format.

More than 40 people attended the meeting, including Chen Yong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Yu Hanchao, Deputy Division Chief of the Bureau of Basic Scientific and Technological Capabilities at the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Lyu Jiancheng, Director of the GIEC; and Yuan Haoran, Deputy Director of the GIEC. The meeting was chaired by Bai Yu, Director of the Science and Technology Office at the GIEC.

Yu Hanchao pointed out that launching a high-quality English-language journal is a key measure to respond to the national strategic initiative to build world-class scientific and technological journals and to address the “bottlenecks at both ends” of academic publishing. He also introduced the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ development plan for new journals and extended his warm congratulations on the journal’s launch and the formation of its inaugural editorial board; He expressed hope that the Guangzhou Institute of Energy would fully leverage its disciplinary strengths, adhere to its commitment to high-quality journal publishing, delve deeply into the research fields of circular energy and resource recycling, and strive to build an academic platform with international influence.

Lyu Jiancheng delivered a speech on behalf of the organizing institution. He stated that launching a high-quality English-language journal not only responds to the national and Chinese Academy of Sciences initiatives to establish world-class scientific and technological journals but also aligns with the practical needs of disciplinary development and the institute’s innovative growth. It represents a significant step toward promoting the international dissemination of research achievements in the fields of circular energy and resource recycling. As the journal’s host institution, the institute will treat the development of the journal as a key driver for disciplinary advancement and the building of its academic brand, providing comprehensive support in terms of platform infrastructure, staffing, and research resources.

Yuan Haoran delivered a special report on the journal’s launch, providing a comprehensive overview of its background, disciplinary focus, section structure, publication plan, and editorial office operations. He outlined the key tasks for the current phase and clarified the journal’s future direction and development goals.

Chen Yong and the editorial board members in attendance engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as developing the journal’s distinctive characteristics, identifying high-quality manuscript sources, ensuring academic quality, enhancing international influence, and establishing operational mechanisms for the editorial board. They offered numerous constructive suggestions of great value, clarifying the work approach and charting the course for the journal’s future high-quality development.

At the conference, Lyu Jiancheng presented Yuan Haoran with a certificate of appointment as editor-in-chief, awarded certificates of appointment as associate editors to 12 experts, including Li Huiquan, and presented certificates of appointment as editorial board members to 24 experts, including Zhang Huiyan. At the same time, three experts—Xie Kechang and Chen Yong, members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Luo Ling’ai, a Senior Researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)—were appointed as academic advisors.

The convening of this meeting marks the full-scale launch of the journal’s development efforts. Moving forward, the journal’s editorial office will carefully and systematically review and fully incorporate the valuable feedback and suggestions provided by the editorial board members, steadily and methodically advance all tasks related to the journal’s launch, and fully leverage the editorial board’s role in providing academic guidance and ensuring quality control. We are committed to building the journal into a leading international platform for academic exchange in the fields of circular energy and resource recycling, thereby contributing to the Institute’s high-quality development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.