The school's 2019-2020 International Exchange Conference was held in Zhiyuan Building in the morning of January 9. An Jianhua, head of the International Liaison Department of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, Liu Xiangbing, secretary of the school party committee, and vice presidents Liu Yufang and Wu Wanxiong attended the meeting. The heads of schools (departments) and relative functional departments, the heads of international exchange, the party general branch secretary, foreign affairs liaison officers, teacher representatives and staff of the International Exchange and Cooperation Office participated as well. The conference was chaired by Vice President Wu Wanxiong.

Minister An Jianhua gave a keynote speech on the topic of "Current International Situation and Status Quo of Labor Movement". He pointed out that the ACFTU’s foreign affairs work in 2020 will mainly include four aspects: First, meticulously plan people-to-people connections to help the construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative; second, actively serve the country’s overall international exchanges and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind; third, adhere to consultation and dialogue with the International Labor Organization, discuss and build a win-win situation, and increase the international influence of Chinese trade unions; fourth, continue to strengthen friendly exchanges with trade unions and labor circles of different countries, and deepen our friendship with neighboring countries and both international and regional trade unions. He hoped that the teachers of our school will actively participate in the investigation and research of international labor to help relevant departments make decisions.

In his concluding remarks, Secretary Liu Xiangbing fully affirmed the school's international exchange work in 2019, and put forward four affirmations and hopes for past achievements and future work: First, warm congratulations on the progress. 2019 is a year in which the school's international exchange work has reached a milestone. The establishment of the International Communication and Exchange Office has improved the scientific, systematic and ideological nature of our work. The second is to raise awareness and become the top-notch. International communication is important, fundamental, and leads other sectors. It is vital in enabling the school to become a domestically first-class and internationally renowned university in the field of labor relations and trade unions. The third is to seek advances in stability and prevent risks. We must strengthen the safety education and awareness of delegations before they go on visits. We must continue to strengthen the confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and share our stories of China and the union to the world. The fourth is to overcome difficulties and gain new understandings. We should speak out our school’s theories, concepts, advantages and confidence, do international communication with our own characteristics, strengthen our will to overcome difficulties, improve departmental coordination and cooperation, and encourage more teachers to devote themselves to international affairs.

Vice President Liu Yufang emphasized that the school’s international exchange work developed from line to surface during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. From the perspective of education and teaching, four balances need to be handled: First, handle the balance between quantity and quality, and make sure actual progress and achievements are made through each exchange. Second, handle the balance between "expansion" and "focus". It is necessary to expand the territory of international communication, but we also need to pay attention to key projects with unique characteristics and strengthen their influence. Third, handle the balance between short-term and long-term projects. We should explore long-term exchanges on the basis of ensuring short-term projects, and carry out joint school programs and cooperative training. Fourth, reach a balance between "going global" and "bringing in". We should combine these two together in order to diversify the forms of international exchange and to realize further development in our work.

Vice President Wu Wanxiong summed up the characteristics of the school’s international exchange work in 2019 with four "increasing" points: First, it has become an increasingly important part of the school; second, the role of it in personnel training, and discipline construction, faculty construction, and academic evaluation is becoming increasingly significant; third, it has taken up an increasingly amount of weight in the foreign affairs of ACFTU; fourth, the international communication awareness of teachers and students is becoming increasingly strong. He hopes that the school will continue to focus more on PD programs for teachers abroad, strengthen their political positions, and strictly observe relevant disciplines in 2020.

Qiao Jian, director of the International Exchange and Cooperation Office, reviewed the overall situation, characteristics and shortcomings of the school’s international exchange work in 2019, and stated his expectations in 2020. Guo Yuqiang, deputy director of the Personnel Office, introduced the status of the school’s overseas teacher trainings and scholar programs. Meng Yanhua, dean of the School of Safety Engineering, and Shen Jianfeng, dean of the School of Law, shared their experience on international talent training programs and the international development of academic research. Ji Wenwen of the School of Labor Relations and Human Resources shared her experience on participating in international academic exchanges.

In the communication sector, participants discussed enthusiastically on their support and concern for the school's international exchange work, talked about the actual problems faced by correspondent departments, and put forward constructive opinions.

International Exchange and Cooperation Office (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Office)