BRI university alliance comes to Shenyang

New branch solidifies city's place as China's northeastern hub on the Belt and Road

The University Alliance of Belt and Road, after nearly six months of preparation, recently set up a branch in Shenyang, capital city of Liaoning province.

The branch's founding ceremony was held at Northeastern University on Nov 22.

The university alliance was launched in Northwest China's Gansu province in 2015 by a group of Chinese and foreign universities, including Lanzhou, Fudan and Beijing Normal universities, under the guidance of the Ministry of Education and the Gansu Provincial Education Department. Currently, a total of 173 universities and colleges from China and abroad have joined the alliance.

At the founding ceremony, the Shenyang branch elected the first session of its board organization, in which Northeastern University and Liaoning University acted as the president units, and Shenyang University as the vice-president unit.

Feng Shouquan, director of the Shenyang publicity department, stressed the significance of the branch at the ceremony, saying that Shenyang, sitting in the hinterland of Northeast Asia, has important part to play in constructing the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor and serves as a key channel for China's opening-up in the north.

It is of great significance to the city's implementation of all-round reform and opening-up by taking part in the BRI construction and utilizing both domestic and international resources, Feng said.

The establishment of the Shenyang branch is not only an important measure for the city government to carry out major BRI deployments, but has also demonstrated the government's determination to transform Shenyang into a gateway city featuring high levels of openness and widespread popularity throughout the rest of Northeast Asia, according to the government.

Shenyang is a historic city famous for its culture, and boasts leading education facilities and rich human resources. It plays host to 47 colleges and universities, and more than 100 scientific research institutes, whose courses cover a wide range of subjects across a number of sectors and boast strong links with local industries.

The city's colleges and universities have in recent years focused more on communication and exchanges with their foreign counterparts, achieving fruitful results in high-quality international personnel training and promotion of Chinese culture.

Feng said that he hoped the Shenyang branch could help foster driving forces for new development by taking advantage of the city's geographic location and integrating educational resources of both China and other countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

He also hoped the branch members could fulfill their four main functions, based on a common consensus for win-win cooperation and mutual development.

First, they should actively serve the country's major strategies. Colleges and universities in the branch are expected to strengthen basic research and the resultant practical applications, and provide solutions for major theoretical and practical problems in the BRI countries and regions.

Second, they should serve the regional social and economic development, in a bid to help revitalize Northeast China and boost the transformation and upgrading of Shenyang by providing human and technical support to the city's construction and the development of its real economy.

Third, colleges and universities in the branch should actively increase educational communication and cooperation with one another, covering such areas as high-level personnel training, scientific research, curriculum design and building of the teaching team, with an aim to enhance the sharing of resources, information and scientific achievements.

Last but not least, they should promote cultural and personnel exchanges by organizing various types of forums and communication activities.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 12/21/2018 page14)