On May 17, USTB hosted the “Steel Backbone, Wisdom Converging in Xiong'an: Bridging China and the World for a Shared Future” Forum and the Release Ceremony of the International Youth Xiong'an Initiative.Attending the event were Li Qing, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Scholarship Council (CSC); Li Yanguang, Director of the Department of International Student Affairs of the CSC; Ma Yun, Director of the Division of International Students Affairs of the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, Ministry of Education; Hu Ziyuan, Director of the Scholarship Division of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation; Yang Lei, Member of the Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Administrative Committee of the Hebei Xiong'an New Area, and Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the New Area's Education Bureau; Chen Jun, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice General Manager of China Xiong'an Group; as well as leaders, faculty members, and student representatives from 14 universities, including Peking University, Beihang University, and Xi'an Jiaotong University. Zheng Anyang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of USTB, attended the event and delivered remarks.

Group photo of forum participants

Zheng Anyang introduced the university's overall development and its achievements in international student education. He noted that, as one of the first group of universities to relocate to Xiong'an, USTB upholds the philosophy of "integrating into Xiong'an, taking root in Xiong'an, and contributing to Xiong'an," and stands ready to work with all parties to leverage its strengths in internationalized education and guide international youth in contributing to Xiong'an's high-quality, internationally oriented development.

Li Qing and Yang Lei each delivered remarks, affirming the university's role in educational opening-up. They expressed the hope that universities would seize the opportunity presented by the spirit of the important reply letter to deepen innovation in education, and encouraged international youth to visit Xiong'an, help build Xiong'an, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

In the forum session, participating experts — including Zhang Baojun, Vice President of Beijing Language and Culture University; Li Qianwen, Vice President of Nanjing Audit University; Ding Xuezhong, Dean of the College of International Cooperative Education of Harbin Engineering University; and Wen Guangrui, Dean of the School of International Education of Xi'an Jiaotong University — delivered keynote reports on implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important reply letter and advancing the high-quality development of international student education in China. From diverse perspectives, they shared their thinking and practice in promoting high-quality international student education across different regions and institutions against the backdrop of building a leading country in education.

International students then gave a themed sharing session titled "Seeing: The Unity of Knowledge and Action." In plain and heartfelt language, they recounted what they had heard, seen, and felt during their studies and daily life in China, describing their firsthand impressions of an approachable, lovable, and respectable Chinese government and people, and vividly expressing the affection of students who love China and are grateful to it.

The release ceremony

At the release ceremony of the International Youth Xiong'an Initiative, international students from more than 30 countries and regions across 14 universities issued the Xiong'an Initiative to young people around the world. The initiative calls on more aspiring young people from around the world to study in China and in Xiong'an and, inspired by President Xi Jinping's important reply letter, to join hands with young people of all countries in contributing to closer people-to-people ties and to building a community with a shared future for mankind.