On May 17th, Pakistani students studying at USTB received a letter from President XI Jinping, who expressed his appreciation for the international students studying in China as well as his hopes and expectations for the development of studying abroad programs in China. In order to further study and publicize the spirit of the letter and further improve the management and service level of international student affairs, a conference to discuss the letter was jointly organized by the editorial office of the  Studies in Ideological Education , Mooc.People.cn, and the International Student Center of USTB on July 15th. Nearly 150 experts, scholars, staff and graduate students from Peking University, Fudan University, Tianjin University and USTB attended the meeting. Mr. WU Guilong, Chancellor of USTB, Prof. QUAN Liangzhu, Vice Chancellor, and other university leaders attended the meeting. The seminar was conducted in the form of an on-site meeting and video conference.

Speech by Mr. WU Guilong, Chancellor of USTB

In his speech, Mr. WU Guilong extended a warm welcome to the experts and scholars attending the meeting. He introduced the situation of USTB in promoting the development of overseas education in China, and pointed out that studying President XI’s letter is a political task that must be adhered to and followed to closely. Everyone must adhere to President XI’s thinking and seek to fully understand the significance of the letter for the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind and further epidemic prevention and control work, as well as improve the quality of education for overseas students to promote the internationalization of education. USTB will make serving the goals of the Chinese Communist Party and the nation its primary purpose, cherish this important historical opportunity to further develop its foreign exchange programs and strive to build a high-level system for training talents with international competitiveness, pursue “double first-class” construction, and develop a more perfect modern university governance system, so as to repay President XI and the Party Central Committee with outstanding achievements.

Prof. QUAN Liangzhu, Vice Chancellor of USTB, presided over the meeting

In his speech, Prof. QUAN pointed out that at this important moment in the global fight against COVID-19, President XI had written back to the Pakistani students at USTB and encouraged them to communicate more with the youth of China and the youth of other countries, and join hands to contribute to enhancing people-to-people exchanges and building a community with a shared future for mankind. The reply letter fully reflects the great importance attached by the CPC Central Committee to the cause of attracting international students to study in China and its concern for the vast number of students already here. It is the guiding ideology and working principle for promoting the work of studying in China, and points the way forward for accelerating and expanding the opening up of education in the new era and improving the international influence of higher education.

The seminar

At the start of the conference, the heads of administration departments of Overseas Education in China of Peking University, Fudan University, Tianjin University, Beijing Language and Culture University and Beijing University of Technology introduced their experience and implementation in carefully studying President XI’s letter. In the second stage of the conference, representatives from 12 universities, including Fudan University, Huaqiao University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and Shandong University of Technology delivered special reports. They discussed their work, difficulties encountered in the management of international student affairs in universities and their experiences in international student management and education under the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants agreed that the letter fully reflects the great importance attached by the CPC Central Committee to the cause of studying in China and its care for the vast number of overseas students. It is of great significance to provide educational services for overseas students and promote the internationalization of education. With the continued expansion of China’s overseas students’ education, it is of great political significance to do a good job in the education and management of overseas students in China. In particular, the current situation of COVID-19 epidemic is still severe, and the university’s focus must be on how to do a good job in the transformation and upgrading of overseas students’ services in the post-epidemic period. It is indicated that guided by the spirit of President XI’s important letter of reply, we should continuously improve the quality of education services for overseas students in China, strengthen the training of outstanding international talents, and strive to open up a new prospect for the development of overseas students in China.

The conference provided a good platform for universities to further study, publicize and implement the spirit of President XI’s letter to all the Pakistan students of USTB, improve the quality of international student affairs management, and promote exchange among front-line staff engaged in international student affairs management. It played an active role in promoting the development of overseas studies in China and speeding up the opening up of education.