Huaqiao University

Huaqiao University is directly administered by the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, also the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council. It is a National Chinese Language and Culture Education Base, National University Student Cultural Quality Education Base, National Language and Writing Promotion Base, National Distinctive Language Services Export Base, National Demonstration University for Deepening Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Reform, National Model University for Faculty Assessment and Evaluation Reform, and National University Base for Inheriting Outstanding Traditional Chinese Culture.

With state approval, the university was founded in Quanzhou, Fujian, in 1960, with Liao Chengzhi as its first president. It suspended operations in 1970 and reopened in 1978. In 1983, the CPC Central Committee designated it a “National Priority Support University.” In 1996, it became jointly developed by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and Fujian Provincial People’s Government. Xiamen Campus opened in 2006. It was selected for Fujian’s “Double First-Class” university development in 2018. In 2019, it became jointly developed by the United Front Work Department, Ministry of Education and Fujian Provincial People’s Government.

The university established a board of trustees in 1980. Zhuang Xiquan, Hu Ping, Huang Changxi, Jia Qinglin, Chen Mingyi, Song Defu, Wang Gang and Cai Dafeng successively served as chair. The current chair is Jiang Zuojun, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Central Committee of the China Zhi Gong Party.

It has campuses in Quanzhou and Xiamen and 27 schools. It covers 11 disciplinary categories and has 11 first-level doctoral authorizations, 28 first-level master’s authorizations, 26 professional master’s authorizations and 5 postdoctoral research stations. It has 41 national, provincial or ministerial key disciplines and 3 Fujian first-class disciplines. Engineering, chemistry, materials science and computer science rank in the global ESI top 5‰, while environment/ecology and social sciences rank in the top 1%. It admits students to 68 undergraduate programs, including 35 national and 17 provincial first-class undergraduate programs. Twenty-three programs have passed international or domestic professional accreditation.

It has 29545 regular full-time undergraduates and 7735 postgraduate students, including 9270 students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, overseas Chinese students and international students. It has 3062 faculty and staff, including 1779 full-time teachers. Among full-time teachers, 59% hold senior professional and technical posts, 74% hold doctorates and 57% are young or middle-aged teachers aged 45 or younger. It has 1 academician team. Its personnel have received 111 national and 845 provincial high-level talent selections. Several teams have received honors including National Advanced Collective in the Education System, Ministry of Education National Huang Danian-Style University Teaching Team, and key-field innovation team under the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Innovative Talent Promotion Program.

The university has over 100 teaching and research platforms at provincial or ministerial level and above, including a jointly developed state key laboratory, joint national-local engineering research centers, national “111 Program” discipline innovation and talent introduction bases, provincial-ministerial collaborative innovation centers, Ministry of Education engineering research centers, virtual teaching and research offices, virtual simulation experimental centers and experimental teaching demonstration centers. It was among the first bases of Fujian’s Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It has received 3 second prizes in the National Science and Technology Progress Awards and 12 Ministry of Education Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement Awards for Higher Education Institutions. Its academic outputs have appeared in leading journals in China and abroad, including Nature, Qiushi and Social Sciences in China. Rooted in China, it conducts “visits to a thousand enterprises and a thousand villages” and implements the “Huaqiao University Action for Advancing Fujian through Science and Education,” serving national and regional economic and social development.

Following its policy of “serving overseas communities and serving Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan,” the university has trained over 300000 people. Over 80000 are based in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas, acting as ambassadors for exchanges and cooperation between China and the world. Upholding its purpose of “serving overseas Chinese and spreading Chinese culture,” it actively conducts people-to-people diplomacy, international public communication and Chinese language and culture education. It cooperates with over 570 Chinese schools worldwide and has held 20 consecutive Chinese language courses for foreign government officials. Original short videos produced by teachers and students have received over 310 million views in China and abroad, offering innovative ways to tell China’s stories. Its theoretical research and think-tank institutions include the Institute for Overseas Chinese and Area and Country Studies, Institute for Chinese Culture and World Civilizations, and Taiwan Research Center. It has signed cooperation agreements with over 300 universities, research institutions and government departments in 57 countries and regions and has 157 offices or admissions agencies worldwide.

Looking ahead, the university will be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, successive plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee and the National Education Conference. It will routinely and sustainably implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions, remember his trust and advance with gratitude. Building on its overseas Chinese identity and service, it will carry forward its traditions, deepen reform and innovation and continually improve educational quality and standards. It aims to become a first-class university in China with a strong international reputation and contribute to building a strong nation and national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.