On the morning of July 11, 2022, a delegation of seven people, including Gu Ting, the full-time vice president of the Foreign Affairs and Friendship Association of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, visited the School of Foreign Languages of Shenzhen University for a discussion and exchange session to discuss matters related to jointly conducting research on international organizations and global governance. Professor Dai Yonghong, the dean of the School of Foreign Languages, and the heads of various regional and country-specific research centers attended the discussion and exchange session.
Dean Dai Yonghong first welcomed the leaders of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Municipal Party Committee and the Friendship Association, and then introduced the basic situation of the reform and development of the School of Foreign Languages of Shenzhen University in recent years, as well as its internationalization efforts. Dai Yonghong stated that the School of Foreign Languages was established in 1983 with assistance from the English Department of Peking University, and it has excellent genes and a glorious tradition. Over the past 39 years, it has made positive contributions to the construction of the foreign language and literature discipline at Shenzhen University, the development of liberal arts at Shenzhen University, and the cultivation of foreign language talents. In recent years, with the advancement of the national "New Liberal Arts" initiative, the School of Foreign Languages has actively sought transformation and development, exploring the path of interdisciplinary integration and the cultivation of composite talents. Especially after "Area Studies" became a first-level discipline at the end of 2021, the school took advantage of the situation and took the lead in establishing the Institute of Area Studies, International Communication, and Global Governance of Shenzhen University in April of this year. The aim is to integrate resources from other departments and research institutions of the university to cultivate international composite talents in the fields of "foreign language and literature + area studies + international communication + international economic and trade + international organizations and international law," and to create a new type of think tank and research base that integrates discipline construction, talent cultivation, academic research, and policy advice services. In this context, the school's internationalization efforts have rapidly advanced, earning it the title of Shenzhen University's Internationalization Demonstration School, and it has jointly carried out a foreign student training program with the International Exchange School of Shenzhen University. Dai Yonghong proposed that the School of Foreign Languages establish the Institute of International Organizations and Global Governance of Shenzhen University jointly with the Shenzhen Municipal Government or enterprises in the future. The institute will play a role as a think tank by hosting domestic and international academic conferences, conducting scientific research activities, and writing policy advice reports, and will assist the Foreign Affairs Office in introducing and establishing international organizations.
Xie Jie, the director and first-class investigator of the Protocol Department of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Municipal Party Committee, then spoke. She pointed out that international organizations and external security are of great significance, and Shenzhen lacks versatile talents who are proficient in foreign languages and have knowledge of international organizations. Therefore, the Foreign Affairs Office needs strong support from Shenzhen University. She hopes that the School of Foreign Languages will conduct more training and lectures in the future and empower Shenzhen's introduction of international organizations and related research through country and regional studies. Xi Shuai, the deputy director of the Protocol Department of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Municipal Party Committee, pointed out that the Foreign Affairs Office recently held a seminar to discuss issues such as promoting the establishment of international organizations in Shenzhen. The introduction of multiple international organizations, such as the UNESCO International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training in UNESCO Member States, has been implemented in Shenzhen. In the future, he hopes that the School of Foreign Languages will conduct research projects with the Foreign Affairs Office and provide relevant talents and overseas connections. Xiao Qiong, the director of the Europe and Africa Department of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Municipal Party Committee, introduced the work carried out by the Foreign Affairs Office on the construction of friendly cities and school-level exchanges and cooperation (including teacher and student exchanges and joint degree awarding). Feng Xiukun, the director of the Asia Department of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Municipal Party Committee, hopes that the School of Foreign Languages can teach research methods to personnel of the Foreign Affairs Office through lectures and courses, and provide suggestions for Shenzhen's development through policy advice reports. Lai Qijue, the deputy minister of the Work Department of the Shenzhen Municipal Friendship Association, introduced the basic situation of the Shenzhen Innovative Cities Cooperation Organization organized by the Foreign Affairs Office, as well as plans for the Sino-French Poetry Recitation held this year and the "Encounter Spain" series of activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain next year.
Gu Ting, the full-time vice president of the Shenzhen Municipal Friendship Association, then spoke. He first expressed his affirmation and praise for the development achievements and innovative transformation of the School of Foreign Languages of Shenzhen University, and then introduced the main work content of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Municipal Party Committee. He pointed out that one of the main responsibilities of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Municipal Party Committee is to provide suggestions and advice to the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, and universities should leverage their advantages and combine them with the advantages of the Foreign Affairs Office to jointly contribute to Shenzhen's development. In recent years, as Shenzhen's status in the field of global innovation has risen, countries around the world, including many developed countries, have increasingly valued Shenzhen's role in the global economy and technological development. Therefore, we should identify Shenzhen's positioning in international organizations and global governance, leverage the unique advantages of "reform and opening up, and innovative development," utilize the valuable time window, actively build networks, establish platforms, plan activities, and conduct research to serve enterprises and the country well.
Finally, Dean Dai Yonghong pointed out that we should seriously study how to convert Shenzhen's economic hard power into soft power in foreign exchanges, introduce international organizations that align with Shenzhen's industrial, financial, and technological policies, and do a good job in city diplomacy and corporate diplomacy.
Other participants included Yang Yifan from the International Exchange and Cooperation Department, Jia Luyi, the vice dean of the School of Foreign Languages, Huang Leping, the assistant dean of the School of Foreign Languages and head of the Latin American Research Center, Zhao Yan, the head of the Spanish Department and African Research Center of the School of Foreign Languages, Gao Wei, the head of the East Asian Research Center, Xie Jun, the deputy director of the Spanish Department, Tang Lixin, the head of the Jewish-Israeli Research Center, Xin Haibo, the head of the Portuguese-speaking Countries Research Center, Kong Youqi, the head of the Dutch Research Center, Li Jingcheng, the head of the Russian Research Center, and Du Yang, the administrative secretary and foreign affairs secretary of the School of Foreign Languages.
Contributor: Huang Leping
Photo Provider: Du Yang
Reviewer: Dai Yonghong
