The 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) was held in Beijing from August 31stto September 5th. Huaqiao University, as a national language service export base, was invited to the fair. This is also its debut in CIFTIS as an exhibitor.

CIFTIS is one of the four key national-level exhibitions hosted by the Ministry of Commerce. Themed as “Cooperate for better development, innovate for a greener future”, CIFTIS has attracted exhibitors from 71 countries and international organizations. Over 7,000 domestic and foreign enterprises participated online or on site, including 446 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders.

As a newcomer to the exhibition, Huaqiao University showcased its top ten export products in language services, including language education, language resources, language technology and language translation, through photo albums, videos and Chinese teaching demonstrations performed by robots. HQU also presented its featured language services and brands as a university for overseas Chinese, i.e., to promote Chinese culture through language teaching, and further to bring overseas Chinese together. The university also introduces artificial intelligence to enhance language services.

During the exhibition, Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, and Li Jiancheng, Vice Governor of Fujian Province, visited HQU’s stand to investigate and inspect. They listened carefully to the briefing, and recognized its language service products and brands.

Representatives from domestic and foreign enterprises, diplomatic agencies in China, other colleges and overseas Chinese businesses in all sectors also came to visit, communicate, and discuss business. Guo Jian, Chairman of the Service Trade Innovation Development Guidance Fund, and Lv Shuzheng, Vice Secretary of the CPC Committee of China Construction Technology Consulting Co., Ltd. (CCTC) offered their advice on the construction of our national language service export base. Wang Qun, a special commentator of the Belt and Road Initiative News Network (BRNN) and China Media Group, interviewed the exhibit staff from HQU. After relevant briefings, the representatives of embassies and consulates from Britain, Germany, Japan, the Philippines, Italy, South Korea, and Belgium also expressed their strong demand for language services in their countries and their willingness to cooperate in the future.

This April, Huaqiao University was approved as a national special service export base in language services jointly built by the Ministry of Commerce, the CPC Publicity Department, Ministry of Education and China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration. Since the approval, Huaqiao University has centered on language talent training plus industrial service, and actively invited language services home and abroad to jointly set up a service platform for Sino-foreign exchanges and university-enterprise cooperation to enhance the integration of government, industry, university, research and application. HQU has also developed innovative projects that encompass language, occupation and industry. It is committed to providing competitive language services with more Chinese characteristics for the Belt and Road Initiative and the “BRICS +” cooperation mechanism, and building a language service platform and service brand with international influence.

Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, Visiting HQU’s Exhibition Stand

Li Jiancheng, Vice Governor of Fujian Province, Visiting HQU’s Exhibition Stand

（Editor: Cai Juntao）