YPO was founded in the 1950s as a non-profit, non-political organization with the goal of "making members better leaders through education and the exchange of ideas" and thereby influencing more people, including employees, customers, and society. YPO is the largest CEO organization in the world today, with more than 24,000 members worldwide, the total sales of member managed enterprises exceed 7 trillion US dollars, can be among the world's top three economies, and occupy an economic monopoly position in many countries. All members must be under the age of 44 to join the club, and there is no age limit for membership after admission, but members must be the head of the company and join the club as an individual.

YPO's Doing Business with China Network, a branch of YPO's thousands of members doing business with China, has been hosting annual summits in China's hot cities since 2011. YPO China Business Summit (CBS). First held in Beijing in 2011, Shanghai in 2013, Chongqing in 2014, Shenzhen in 2015, Beijing in 2016, Hangzhou in 2017 and the 7th Summit in Xi 'an in 2018. Each summit is attended by members from 20-30 countries, with the aim of understanding the changes in China, learning successful experiences in doing business with China, and meeting partners that are helpful for business. The speech topics of the summit cover current hot issues and industries, and invited experienced government and business people to share. Since the Shenzhen Summit, the summit has set up special open sessions for local entrepreneurs and governments to promote exchanges between YPO members and local communities.