On September 9, the opening ceremony for the 2023 Dual-Degree Program between China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) and Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) took place at CUPL's Changping campus. The event was attended by BFSU President Yang Dan, Vice President Sun Youzhong, and CUPL President Ma Huade. Heads of various administrative departments and schools of both universities, faculty representatives, and students from the 2021, 2022, and 2023 dual-degree classes were present. The ceremony was presided over by Chang Baoguo, Vice President of CUPL.
BFSU President Yang Dan warmly welcomed the freshmen students enrolled in the Dual-Degree Program for international legal talents and provided an overview of the program’s development. He also shared the achievements and future aspirations of this collaborative initiative between BFSU and CUPL. President Yang Dan emphasized that over the past three years, the two universities have made significant progress in joint teaching, research, and management, with their cooperation model steadily maturing. He underscored CUPL’s commitment to the “triple-global” strategy, guided by the important instruction made by President Xi Jinping in his reply letter to BFSU, which include global language, global culture, and global governance, and highlighted their focus on regional countries, international communication, and international organizations as new strategic areas of study. The university takes reshaping China's perception of the world, the world's perception of China, and the future global perspective as its important mission. Yang Dan encouraged students to have a deep love for China, a keen awareness of the world, and a vision for shaping the future. He expressed confidence that through their continued exploration in the Dual-Degree Program, both universities would make positive contributions to China's international legal affairs and global governance.
President Ma Huaide, on behalf of CUPL, extended sincere congratulations and a warm welcome to the new students, while expressing gratitude to the staff of both universities involved in implementing the program. He noted that as the global governance and international order continue to evolve rapidly, there is an urgent need to cultivate high-level international legal talents with a global perspective, a deep understanding of international rules, and the ability to engage in international legal affairs, uphold national interests, and advocate for changes in global governance rules. The "law plus English" dual-degree program, developed jointly by CUPL and BFSU, represents an important achievement in this endeavor, combining the strengths of both universities to serve China’s law-based governance, especially the strategic rule of law layout involving foreign affairs. Ma Huaide noted the importance of enhancing cooperation, optimizing collaboration mechanisms, refining curriculum systems, and synergizing theoretical and practical education. He stressed the universities’ commitment to both "bringing in" social resources and "going out" through collaboration with international organizations and overseas institutions, establishing internship and practice bases, and enhancing students’ professional skills, practical abilities, and real-world experience. This, he believes, will continuously elevate the quality and standards of talent development.
In September 2020, CUPL and BFSU signed a cooperation agreement to jointly cultivate much-needed high-end international legal talents. The Dual-Degree Bachelor Program of “Law plus English”, a result of this collaboration, has harnessed the strengths of both institutions and has demonstrated innovative cross-university training for international legal talents. In 2023, marking the program’s third year of implementation, the two universities have achieved substantial and fruitful results through their close collaboration and joint efforts.
