Silk Road Economic Belt 

The Symposium on Educational Exchange among Silk Road Countries was held in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, from May 22 to 26. The forum attracted scholars and university presidents from Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as countries located along the Silk Road Economic Belt, such as Russia, Germany and Italy.

At the symposium, representatives from 22 countries and regions released the Xi’an Declaration and explored the possibility of forming a New Silk Road University Alliance. Wang Shuguo, president of Xi’an Jiaotong University, said that the alliance is a non-governmental and non-profit cooperative platform for higher education distinguished by openness and a global outlook.
 

Initiated by Xi’an Jiaotong University, the platform is a favorable response to the “One Belt, One Road” project and the growing trend of cooperation among educational institutions around the world. The alliance aims to facilitate academic research, personnel training, cultural exchange, youth friendship and social development in countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt. 
 

Historically, the Silk Road was the major conduit of cultural exchange between the East and the West. It will make a significant contribution to the peaceful coexistence and development of the human race in future, attendees to the forum said. Universities should play a leading role in such a grand project, said Jin Qixie, president of Pusan National University in Korea.
 

“We are witnessing a miracle created by China,” said Iain Martin, vice-president of the University of New South Wales. “We need to focus more on tertiary education and cultivate talent to support economic and technological development in our own countries.”

Lu Hang is a reporter at the Chinese Social Sciences Today.