Honorable President Thyssen,

Honorable Rector Professor Luc Sels，

Honorable Vice Rector Professor Peter Lievens，

Dear colleagues,

Young Academics，

Thank you for inviting me to KU Leuven. It is always a great pleasure to speak in front of so many young faces. Before the lecture, Professor Lievens kindly showed me around the university hall and gave me a brief introduction of KU Leuven. It brought back fond memories of my campus life.  

You are on the campus of one of the most prestigious universities in Europe and indeed in the whole world. Over the extraordinary course of six centuries of endeavor, it has hosted world-renowned scholars, promoted humanistic studies and the development of natural science in Europe.

It has suffered wars, closures, and countless political turmoils, but the academic pursuit in the spirit of KU Leuven has never failed to exist, which helped to shape minds and make an impact on the world.

Next year, KU Leuven will celebrate its 600th anniversary. Please allow me to say “Happy Birthday” to you all in advance, and wish you another century of excellence and inspiration.

Let me say a few words about education in China. It also has quite a long history, if you think of Chinese history. It can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty of more than 2,000 years ago, when schools for noblemen and commoners were  established nationwide.  

But the first university in modern China was not established  until almost five centuries after KU Leuven was established. Peiyang University was founded in 1895 in east China’s Tianjin, my home city. It learned from the Western model and is widely regarded as the origin of modern Chinese higher education.

Since its establishment, Peiyang University has held on to the belief—devotion to education makes the nation strong. It reflects the spirit of all Chinese universities, i.e. a strong sense of responsability and commitment to the nation.

Looking back at the history of Chinese and European higher education, we could see universities both in China and in Europe have always been at the forefront of sustaining civilization, creating knowledge and serving the society. The spirit of humanism and the belief in peace have remained fresh through the smoke and dust of history. 

Professor Lievens told me that of the over 63,000 students in KU Leuven, around 14,000 are international students, many of them are from Asia. It’s good to know because this makes KU Leuven truly international, inclusive and multicultural.

China has long emphasized the opening-up of education. Since the first assignation of student abroad in the 19th century, “opening our eyes to the outside world”has been a fundamental tenet that has provided a source of motivation in Chinese path to modernization.

With the introduction of the reform and opening up over four decades ago, China’s higher education has accelerated its internationalization process in the midst of economic globalization.

Today China is the world's top source of international students. Around one million Chinese students are studying at Higher Educational Institutes abroad. I myself and my colleague Minister Counsellor Ma Tao who is with us today are both beneficiaries of this development. We both had the pleasure of studying abroad in our earlier years of public service.

China has also become the world’s second largest destination  for international students. At present, the number of international students in China has reached a record high of more than 400,000. They come from 205 countries and regions.

What has such massive mobility in higher education brought about? Well, knowledge innovation and knowledge flow are the obvious outcomes. Over the decades, many of the overseas students who studied in China are now builders of their countries in Asia, Africa and indeed, the global south.

In the case of China, about 80% of the students returned from overseas studies between 1978 and 2019. Many of these returnees are playing important roles in China’s modernization drive.

Some of the students chose to stay abroad which is fine as our policy guarantees their freedom of coming and going. I had the pleasure to meet some of the Chinese scientists in Europe last year and find that many of them have become the backbones of their host countries.

Students mobility goes beyond talent and knowledge exchange. It is a vehicle of cultural dialogue. Numa, a French student who is doing a PhD at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Central China, once described his life in China as a “cultural odyssey”, and said that when he heard the familiar tunes of Dvořák’s (duh·vor·zhaak,德沃夏克) Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”, at a local concert hall, he felt as if he had never left his hometown, although it is actually thousands of miles away.

There are many other international students and scholars who have had similar experiences. Professor Thomas Coomans from the Department of Architecture of KU Leuven has travelled to China many times. According to one report, his work on architectural history and conservation brought him to many interesting places in urban and rural China, where his sketches of ancient buildings helped him bridge the language barrier. To many Chinese students and friends, he is more than a professor of architecture, he is a messenger of culture.

Looking back, China and Europe had enjoyed a long history of cultural exchanges and mutual learning.

If you go to some of the leading museums in Europe, you will find that the Four Great Inventions of ancient China contributed to the European Renaissance, and the elegant beauty of Chinese porcelains influenced the evolution of European art styles.

On the other hand, the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci (利玛窦), the French missionary Joachim Bouvet (白晋) and many others introduced European knowledge in science and technology to China.

One of KU Leuven's most well-known graduates in China is Mr. Ferdinand Verbiest (南怀仁). Last year, China and Belgium jointly commemorated the 400th anniversary of his birth. His studies at KU Leuven had laid a solid foundation for his later life in China as a cultural ambassador. He made significant contribution to the interaction and integration of Chinese and European civilizations.

The exchanges between our two civilizations have not only benefited our two sides, but also contributed to the promotion of global civilization and prosperity as a whole. For example, the ancient Silk Road was not only a trade route that went from China to Europe, but also transmitted cultural exchange including theatric performance, dance, music and art. The Silk Road also played a major role in the dissemination of religions. According to UNESCO, the Silk Road can thus be considered as an important fundament of human civilization.

The distinguished German philosopher Leibniz published a book Writings on China in 1697. He said in this book, “China and Europe represent the two peaks of human culture. If China and the West strengthen cooperation and cultural exchanges, a perfect and harmonious world can be achieved.” 

In 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Civilization Initiative, which emphasizes the inheritance and innovation of civilizations, on the basis of recognizing, respecting and promoting the common values of humanity. China will promote civilizations through diversity and differences, thus building a global community of shared future  through exchanges and cooperation.

In this connection, it is indeed welcoming news that the 6th Meeting of China-EU High-Level People-to-People Dialogue (HPPD) Mechanism will be held soon. It will provide a good opportunity to enhance mutual interest and understanding between the two sides.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Young academics,

I would also like to take this opportunity to update you on  China-EU relations.

Last December, I was back in Beijing to receive the two presidents of EU when the first face-to-face Summit was held since the pandemic. There were in-depth discussions and broad agreement between the leaders of the two sides to enhance mutual understanding and trust, manage differences appropriately, and strengthen the stability and reciprocity of China-EU relations.

I have a strong feeling that the overall China-EU relationship is in better shape today than the past few years. Differences still remain and misperceptions still exist.

But there is growing recognition that a healthy and stable China-EU relationship serves the interests of the two sides. And the Summit helped to set a new direction for the bilateral relationship.

There is also stronger interest and commitment in strengthening dialogue and cooperation in key areas such as trade and investment, green development, digital economy, artificial intelligence, geographical indications, intellectual property, and export controls. A number of established mechanisms resumed function in the past few months.

Before coming here, I just saw off Ambassador Li Hui, China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs. This is his second visit to EU in the second round of shuttle diplomacy on the Ukrainian crisis, which will also take him to Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and France. China stands ready to engage with all parties concerned including the EU on issues of global peace and security.

I have always argued that as two major global forces, two major markets and two major civilizations, there exist no geopolitical conflicts or clash of fundamental interests between China and Europe. It is well proven that China and the EU are partners, not rivals; between the two sides, there is more consensus than differences, more co-operations than competitions.

When it comes to promoting an equal and orderly multipolar world, and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, China and the EU have common interests and shoulder common responsibilities. China looks forward to working with the EU to take real actions to cope with unprecedented risks and challenges.

Young academics,

Youth is the most active and vital force of the society. More than a hundred years ago, a famous Chinese scholar wrote that “If the youth is strong, China is strong”. So, you are the future, and what you do today determines how your country will look like in the future. And the attitude of the youth on both sides will determine the future of China-Europe relations.

In the digital era, social media, online platforms and mobile payment have reshaped the life and work of the younger generation in China. AI and VR (Virtual reality) have become pioneers in the fields of learning and creating. China’s youth are willing to embrace the world, and to pursue broader and deeper integration with others, while showing greater passion, inclusiveness, self-confidence and self-reliance. 

Last year, I had the pleasure of receiving a few student  delegations from renowned universities in China. During my conversations with them, I find that the Chinese young people are eager to learn more about Europe, and have a strong favor for European culture.

In their eyes, Europeans are characterized by openness, innovation, honesty and integrity. A survey carried out by TikTok on Chinese young internet users shows that their top 2 interests in Europe are its social culture and economy.  

I believe progress in the internationalization of Chinese education and China-Europe cultural exchanges have equipped youth of China in the new era with a global vision and  international experiences. Many of the Chinese youth hold high expectations for the future of China-Europe relations.       

Such positive attitudes deserve to be valued. It is my hope that frequent interactions between young people in both China and Europe will be strengthened through multiple channels. They will pave the way to stable China-EU relations based on mutual understanding, consensus, and common aspirations, thus bringing more stability and positive energy to our world.

In this connection and before concluding, please allow me to make a small advertisement for the EU Window Chinese Government Scholarship. It is a full scholarship established by China’s Ministry of Education for candidates from EU member countries, under the framework of China-EU High Level People-to-People Dialogue (HPPD). 

The purpose of this program is to expand student exchanges between China and the European Union. The scholarship covers both major study and Chinese language training. If you are interested in studying in China and in experiencing its culture, please visit the website of the Chinese Mission to the European Union or contact my colleagues from the Education Section.

That concludes my presentation. And thank you for your attention.