Working together under BRI for common development

Editor's Note

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This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI envisions the common development of all countries and a shared future for humankind. 

To help realize this grand vision, the Tsinghua community has contributed in many different ways. At Tsinghua, the Student Association of Belt and Road Initiative (SABRI), with more than 1,000 members from over 80 countries, is one such platform where young minds from diverse backgrounds meet and lead meaningful dialogues on the BRI, bringing the world closer together.

Let’s hear from some of the SABRI members.

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“Through SABRI, I have gained deep insights into various countries as there are international members, and it definitely helped me a lot while doing my research,” says Anqing Zhao, a master candidate under the International Relations Department of Tsinghua.

“We have already seen extensive cooperation around the world under the framework of the BRI. The BRI will play an even more important role for the post-pandemic global economic recovery,” says Anqing Zhao, a master’s student from Tsinghua’s Department of International Relations.

She joined SABRI in the last year of her undergraduate studies, and her research has focused on China-Europe cooperation in Eurasia. For her undergraduate thesis, she looked into Sino-Europe relations, while her graduate research examined the European Union’s connectivity strategy.

As the outreach team leader and core member of SABRI, she performs various tasks. “My main task as the outreach leader is to maintain SABRI’s connection with other youth associations in BRI countries and support international youth talks. I am also leading the design of SABRI’s website now, as it is an important channel for SABRI to present its work and share insights,” Anqing Zhao says.

“Thanks to the BRI, the world is more interdependent and connected than ever before, and it will be more so with the implementation of other cross-border infrastructure development projects,” Anqing Zhao says. “The BRI’s shared vision of a common future is what we all should aspire to.”  

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“The association shifts the experiences students bring from their home country from being an individual’s story to shared knowledge many can learn from, and as a whole, contributes to something larger,” said Camilla Kong, a master’s student from Canada studying environmental engineering at the School of Environment, is the media team leader in SABRI.

One of her most memorable moments as a SABRI member is when international students on- and off-campus came together to film a video in support of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, where they shared messages of encouragement to the public. She says she was thrilled to see many students join this video initiative.

“Another activity I highly enjoyed was this summer’s Silk Road Exchange Program”, Camilla recalls. She was glad to see so many people expressing their interest in the film, using media as an effective way to help people understand something quickly without using many words.

SABRI Members posing with Mohammad Keshavarz-Zadeh (Iran's Ambassador to China)

Camilla hopes the world can pay more attention to the development taking place under the BRI around the world. “The BRI involves numerous countries across the world, so it is in the interest of students and the public to be well-informed and updated on the most recent news related to the BRI. In this way, people can have a more comprehensive understanding of the current global situation,” she adds.

As a Canadian, she is proud to be part of SABRI as it has helped her improve her global competency skills in cross-cultural communication, inquiry, and collaboration.

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“As an international student at Tsinghua, I want to be a bridge between my country and China for the mutual benefit of the two countries, and at the same time, I also want to work with other like-minded people from around the world to build bridges between China and the rest of the world,” said Minh Thao Chan from France and is part of the project team in SABRI.

“I first heard about the BRI in 2013, when I was planning to come to China to pursue my master’s degree. I am highly impressed by the BRI as it seeks to connect regions just like how the ancient Silk Road had connected, and facilitate global trade and strengthen people-to-people relations,” says Minh Thao Chan, a Ph.D. candidate studying electronic engineering at Tsinghua.

Minh Thao Chan works with the project team of SABRI, developing and executing mid-term and long-term projects aimed at deepening students’ understanding of the BRI and enabling them to come up with innovative ways to build friendship between China and their countries.

Minh sees the BRI as a global initiative requiring joint efforts from all countries to develop a system that ensures exchanges of goods, knowledge, and technology, among other things, with high efficiency across regions.

“It’s an inter-connected world, and for the common development, we must all act together,” Minh says.

04

“In Tsinghua, we are always stimulated and reminded of our passion with increasing admiration and awe,” says Yu Xiao (China), founding President of SABRI and a Ph.D. candidate from the School of Social Sciences.

At Tsinghua, Xiao has excelled academically and demonstrated leadership qualities. He led SABRI as its founder and president, holding a variety of student activities and building the association into one of the largest youth organizations on the BRI with members from around the world.

“Tsinghua is a pathfinder to a brighter future filled with promises. The support I have received at Tsinghua has allowed me to achieve many of my most ambitious dreams,” he says.

Xiao has received five major awards in his three years at Tsinghua, including one for his contributions in fighting COVID-19 and coordinating the donation of medical equipment and masks to hospitals across the world through SABRI.

When asked what one piece of advice he would give his peers and those interested in pursuing higher education at Tsinghua, he said, “Come and explore more for yourself. Tsinghua not only has the best facilities to study and research the world, it also has the best people to inspire the wisdom within us.”

TsinghuaRen | Working together under BRI for common development

Writer : Grace Lim

Editors:  Liu Shutian, Gillian

Designer : Grace Lim

Reviewer: Lin Yuan‍‍‍