Joining Hands to Make History for Tomorrow: President Qiu Yong's fourth Belt and Road Davos Forum speech
Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong delivered a speech at the fourth Belt and Road Davos Forum in Switzerland. The text is as follows:
Joining Hands to Make History for Tomorrow
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
At the beginning of the year 2020, it is a great pleasure for us to gather here again in Davos to exchange ideas on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This is the fourth Belt and Road Davos Forum, we are very pleased to have Chongqing city joining us as the guest City of Honor this year. On behalf of Tsinghua University, I would like to extend our warmest welcome to all the distinguished guests and experts and sincere thanks for the generous support from all of you.
This year’s forum focuses on “high-quality development and poverty reduction.” In the joint pursuit of the BRI, we need to be guided by the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. Belt and Road cooperation should be open, green and clean, and pursue high standards and people-centered, sustainable development. This year, our forum covers topics on “high-quality development,” “artificial intelligence and global governance,” as well as “poverty alleviation and development.” I sincerely hope our colleagues and distinguished guests can actively share your experiences and expertise to contribute wisdom to this conversation.
Over the past years, Tsinghua University has taken on responsibilities to tackle the most pressing challenges in the world. In promoting global sustainable development, 12 universities from nine countries jointly established the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) at Tsinghua University in May 2019, aiming to lead global universities to undertake the mission of tackling climate change. President Xi Jinping sent a letter in reply to the student representatives of the GAUC Graduates Forum on January 6 this year, expressing his appreciation for their concern for the shared future of mankind and his expectations for their active role to protect the common planet of the people. Regarding poverty alleviation, since 2013, Tsinghua University has been assisting Nanjian Yi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province, in terms of education, healthcare, industry and other fields. In particular, Tsinghua University has offered trainings to over 5,000 local people through online remote education, local classes and on-campus training. By the end of 2018, the county saw its poverty incidence drop from 28% of 2013 to about 1% in 2018. As of today, Tsinghua University and Nanjian Yi Autonomous County have collaborated to successfully get rid of poverty by current standards. Tsinghua University will continue to make more efforts for international cooperation, global sustainable development and poverty eradication in the future.
Taking this forum as an opportunity, we are willing to share the Chinese experience of high-quality development and poverty alleviation, to learn the insights and best practices from our partners and friends around the world. This year marks the 50th anniversary of World Economic Forum. It is also the fifth year for me to attend the forum. To me, Davos is a place where people from around the world meet each other. To me, Davos is also a place where exciting stories happen every second. Now, I just want to say, together, we make history. We are not making history for ourselves. We are making history for the poor, for the vulnerable, for the disadvantaged, and ultimately for the entire humankind. Let’s join hands to make history for tomorrow. Thank you.
