Wang Shuguo, President of Xi'an Jiaotong University, delivers a speech in a video dialogue on reshaping China-US education exchanges on March 25.

Wang Shuguo, President of Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU), attended and addressed a dialogue on reshaping China-US education exchanges via video link held by the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) in at the campus Science Museum on March 25.

The dialogue was jointly held by the CEAIE and the Department of International Cooperation & Exchanges at the XJTU against the backdrop that education-oriented exchanges have encountered unprecedented setbacks and challenges arising from the COVID-19 epidemic and changes in China-US bilateral relations. It aimed to focus on higher education, promote exchanges on education between the two countries and reshape the paradigm of their exchanges and cooperation in the post-COVID era.

In his remarks Wang highlighted restrictive factors concerning the two-way flow of Chinese students. The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic and new challenges arising from China-US bilateral ties have had a negative impact upon the exchange and communication between young people from the two countries. Therefore, the international community should strengthen their unity, better manage differences and further promote mutual trust.

Wang introduced that the XJTU has lent a helping hand to Chinese students who cannot fly to the US for academic learning because of the COVID-19 epidemic and allowed nearly 400 students to continue their study there.

Wang thus urged the education circle to set aside their differences and work together to create a better future for the youth.

Meanwhile, he also introduced development of the Western China Science &Technology Innovation Harbour(iHarbour), which is XJTU’s latest embrace of the fourth industrial revolution and expressed his desire that it will a more open platform for exchanges between young people.

Finally, Wang called on all attending universities to better make their voices heard and contribute more to promoting people-to-people exchanges and creating a better environment for the communication between the young people of China and the US.

A screenshot of attendees in the video dialogue on reshaping China-US education exchanges on March 25

Those attending the event included representatives from Peking University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Renmin University of China, Zhejiang University, Jilin University, the US Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the US International Education Association, the Kissinger Institute on China & the United States at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the US Northwestern University, and of the Ford Foundation and Schwarzman Scholarship; they discussed the historical mission of universities, the cultivation of international talents and proposals to promote exchanges and cooperation in education.