On December 18, 2020, the International Seminar on the Higher Education of China, Japan, ROK and Thailand with the theme of Integrated Development of Universities and Cities was held in Qingdao. The seminar was sponsored by Qingdao Municipal Education Bureau and Ocean University of China, and supported by China Center for International People-to-People Exchange under China’s Ministry of Education and Shandong Provincial Education Department. In attendance were 120 participants on site and online. The meeting was co-chaired by Prof. Li Huajun, OUC’s Vice President and Yin Mingqin, Chief Inspector of Qingdao Municipal Education Bureau.

Vice President Li Huajun, fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, emphasized the importance of integrated development of universities and cities in building a new symbiotic relationship, and the significance of regional integration for the common development of China, Japan, ROK and Thailand. He said that it is the shared expectation of the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai people and the shared responsibility of universities to strengthen educational cooperation and cultural ties. OUC boasts a solid foundation for cooperation with Japanese, South Korean and Thai universities. Through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, many high-level research bases and cooperation platforms were built, which produced fruitful research outcomes and cultivated a large number of talent in marine science and aquaculture. Going forward, OUC is willing to join hands with universities in China, Japan, ROK and Thailand to promote educational and cultural exchanges and to build a beautiful blue homeland.

In recent years, universities in Qingdao have been strengthening mutual learning and exchanges with Japan, ROK, Thailand and other countries. By 2020, 5 institutions and 31 projects of Sino-foreign cooperative education have been established in Qingdao. Today, universities in Qingdao have employed 284 foreign teachers and formed close ties with 696 foreign universities. Among them, the number of sister universities in Japan, ROK and Thailand reached 104, 203, 44, accounting for more than 50% of its total sister universities in the world. Going forward, colleges and universities in Qingdao will remain committed to open education. This will help Qingdao build a comprehensive, wide-ranging and multi-level platform for educational and cultural exchanges, and promote quality development of higher education.