Theme Activities for the 50th Anniversary of the Normalization of Diplomatic Relations between China and Japan Hosted by USST

This year witnesses the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. The Beijing Consensus issued by the seventeenth Beijing Tokyo Forum, held in 2021, pointed out that, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the face-to-face exchanges between two peoples have been reduced, which boosts the needs to maintain and strengthen non-governmental exchanges. Promoting the academic cooperation and exchange, improving international exchange among students and cultivating public diplomacy talents are of great significance to build a community of a shared future for mankind. And it is also important for USST (University of Shanghai for Science and Technology) to implement its internationalization strategy. In this context, from March 14 to 18, USST and Chuo University of Japan (CUJ) held an international talent training project. Relies on the Japanese Cultural Exchange Center and USST Tokyo Office, the online project attracted about 50 students from the two universities.

At the opening ceremony, Professor Umeda, Dean of science and Engineering Department of CUJ, and Cai Hui, deputy director of International Exchange Office of USST delivered speeches respectively. They reviewed the friendly and cooperative relationship between the two universities over the years. They hoped that through this project, students could experience the charm of Chinese culture, learn cutting-edge science and technology, understand the talent needs of current multinational enterprises and improve their ability of cross-cultural communication.
This project consists of a host of theme courses, covering various fields such as traditional culture, media, business communication, scientific and technological research and development, language learning and so on. Gao Shanbo, deputy director of the Shanghai Office of Japan Trade Promotion Agency, Wu zhiyizheng, director of the Shanghai Research Institute of Murata (China) investment company, Yang Yuanyuan, a national first-class tea technician, and many other outstanding people from different industries in China and Japan are among its keynote speakers, who brought a knowledge and cultural feast to the Chinese and Japanese students. One of the most popular session was the exchange with Takeuchi Liang, a Japanese internet influencer, and a documentary director. As a cultural envoy, director Takeuchi shared with the students his journey of recording and walking in China with his lens, and had a warm interaction with Chinese and Japanese students on such topic as China's digital epidemic prevention measures, Chinese and Japanese popular players at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

At the closing ceremony on March 18, each student shared his or her online learning achievements. The students of CUJ lamented that the image of China in Japanese media reports is mostly prejudiced, and through the exchanges with guests in various fields in recent days, they felt a real China presented to them. At the end of the ceremony, the students promised to visit China after the epidemic was abated.
Other theme activities are also held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. On January 12, at the invitation of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, Professor Liu Qin, Dean of College of Foreign Languages and Executive Vice President of the Shanghai Institute of Public Diplomacy, attended the Fifth Session of the "Shanghai Reception Hall", and had in-depth exchanges with the guests from foreign-funded enterprises. Professor Liu also gave the guests a brief profile of the Shanghai Institute of Public Diplomacy and USST. On February 24, with the view to cultivating international talents and promoting the understanding, exchange and cooperation between Nagasaki county and its overseas sister cities, International Exchange Division of Nagasaki county hosted the second Online International Business Forum. Guo Li, a faculty member of the Japanese Department of College of Foreign Languages of USST, was invited to participate in the Forum.