"Marching forward in 75 years regardless of hardship for literary talent and moral integrity; Pressing ahead in 75 years with unswerving determination for eternal inheritance and new glory." On the morning of October 13, the Conference on High-quality Development and Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of China University of Labor Relations was solemnly held at the auditorium of Zhiyuan Building, CULR Beijing Campus. Wang Dongming, Vice Chairman of Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) and Chairman of All-China Federation of Trade Union (ACFTU) gave instructions on the university work. The conference was attended by Xu Liuping, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, Vice Chairman and First Secretary of the Secretariat of ACFTU, Lin Shangli, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Renmin University of China, Zheng Gongcheng, Member of Standing Committee of NPC, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of China Democratic League and Professor of Renmin University of China, Jin Shanwen, Member of the Party Leadership Group, Vice Chairman and Secretary of the Secretariat of ACFTU, Wang Jiaoping, Member of the Party Leadership Group, Secretary of the Secretariat and Head of the Organizational Department of ACFTU, Yang Zhiming, Invited Researcher of the Counselors' Office of the State Council and Chairman of the China Association of Labor Science, Zhang Mingqi, Member of the Party Leadership Group, Full-time Deputy Chairman and Secretary-General of China Law Society (CLS), and President of China Social Law of CLS, and other leaders from authorities, organizations and universities including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Education Commission of Beijing Municipal CPC Committee, Chinese Academy of Labor and Social Sciences, International Labor Organization China and Mongolia Bureau, Belarusian International University MITSO, Peking University, Communication University of China, North China University of Technology, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing Information Science and Technology University, China Youth University of Political Studies, China Women's University, Beijing Wuzi University, Shougang Institute of Technology, China Fire and Rescue Institute, Shandong Management University and Anhui University of Arts. Nearly 1,000 delegates attended the event, including the officials from ACFTU and its industrial trade unions, affiliating units and provincial trade unions, the delegates from partnering schools at home and abroad, the persons in charge of friendly partnering entities, the representatives of retired leaders and professors, all the executives and representatives of faculty, students and alumni from CULR. The conference was moderated by Liu Xiangbing, Secretary of the Party Committee of CULR.

At the conference, the attending guests, teachers and students shared the dignified but festive atmosphere. The promotional video Stories of Labor celebrating the 75th anniversary showcased CULR's arduous history and glorious achievements to all the attendants. It affectionately reviewed the uncommon past, shared the present exciting progress, and looked forward to a bright future.

The conference officially commenced amidst the solemn national anthem.

Secretary Wang Jiaoping read out the important instructions made by ACFTU Chairman Wang Dongming. Comrade Wang noted in the instructions, "In recent years, CULR has gained new achievements and valuable experience in all respects, and is expected to make persistent efforts on pursuing greater achievements. The university should always uphold Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and the Party's education policies, strive to improve the quality and levels of education, training and research, so as to make more contributions to the Party's labor movement cause and labor union work."

ACFTU Secretary Xu Liuping fully affirmed CULR's fruitful results over the past 75 years. CULR has thoroughly implemented the Party's education policies, followed the connotative development path of "establishing the university by quality, vitalizing the university by characteristics, and consolidating the university strength by talents", promoted the Chinese, labor and trade union characteristics, and made positive contributions to the Party's labor movement and higher education causes. The University is to conscientiously study, understand and implement the instructions of Chairman Wang Dongming, keep in mind its political attribute, adhere to the correct direction of education development, secure the great ideological and political courses of Chinese laborers in place, include the Party's innovative theories into classroom, textbook and student's mind, resolutely perform the fundamental mission of establishing morality and cultivating people, cultivate builders of and successors to the cause of socialism by all-around development of moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetics and labor education, and endeavor to create a new situation of high-quality development of CULR.

Xu Liuping emphasized that CULR is to concentrate on its primary responsibilities and businesses, serve the cause of labor movement wholeheartedly, focus on the key work of trade union and the deployment of ACFTU's Party Leadership Group, leverage the advantage as the unique university directly under ACFTU, make concerted efforts on the study and demonstration of the Party's labor movement theories, the theoretical research of major trade-union-related issues, and the building of think tanks, and play a better role in advancing the innovative development of trade unions. CULR should continue the firm stance of its duties and responsibilities, highlight its "union plus" and "labor plus" features, focus on creating harmonious labor relations, deepen the reform of building industrial workforce, strengthen and optimize the education and training of union cadres, gather nationwide resources and wisdom of the trade union system and education system, and thus form joint forces for common development.

Xu Liuping noted that CULR should pinpoint the goal of building a first-class university with distinctive features, i.e. "a domestically top-tier and internationally leading university", advance the building of first-level disciplines of trade union studies, promote the characteristic brands of labor models and craftsmanship, labor relations studies and labor education for cultivating people, and assume the important mission in China's higher education structure to engage in scholarship of the working class and union work. CULR should also pursue reform and innovation with keen determination, vigorously improve its education and governance levels under the principle of strict governance of school, education and research, refine and enhance the "labor plus" and "union plus" disciplines, and develop new models of talent cultivation to foster more high-quality, application-oriented, inter-disciplinary and innovative talents that satisfy the needs of economic and social development.

Lin Shangli, President of Renmin University of China, delivered a speech on behalf of CULR's friendly universities in China, expressing warm congratulations on its 75th anniversary. He said that CULR has always shared the same destiny with the Party and the country, got deeply rooted in serving trade unions and the society, and gained prominent achievements in disciplinary development, talent cultivation, academic research and other fields. He noted that CULR and RUC share the same origin with profound friendship, as well as the same red gene and spiritual origin. Through mutual support and common development of academic exchange, talent cultivation and cadre training, both universities have achieved fruitful results and formed solid friendship. He hoped that CULR attain the goal of building a first-class university with distinctive features as soon as possible, and contribute the strength of education and labor to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Yuri Shevtsov, First Vice Chancellor of Belarusian International University MITSO, sent sincere wishes on behalf of CULR's friendly universities outside China. He highly affirmed CULR's achievements in talent cultivation, innovative development and shaping of professionalism. He sincerely hoped that under the grand framework of Belarus-China friendly cooperation, the two universities further deepen cooperation on joint cultivation of union cadres, exchanges of research outcomes, etc.

Chang-Hee Lee, a representative of CULR's strategic partners and Director of the ILO China and Mongolia Bureau, congratulated CULR on its 75th anniversary, and expressed admiration for the high-quality research on labor and trade union conducted by professors and scholars. He said that ILO will continue to work with ACFTU to realize decent work for Chinese laborers, and looked forward to cooperation with the University on high-quality research on labor relations and trade unions in China.

Fu Deyin, President of CULR made a presentation on the action of CULR for high-quality development. He noted that the 75 years history of CULR is a legendary story about inheriting red genes and excellent traditions, and serving the innovative development of China's labor movement and the strategy of building a strong education nation. Inspired by the spirit of Chinese President Xi Jinping's reply letter to the undergraduate class of model laborers of CULR, and thanks to the strong support and care of ACFTU Party Leadership Group, the University has clearly set the party building and trade union studies as the leading force, concentrate on the four strategies around the primary duties and responsibilities of trade union, prioritize the "labor" brand effect, and aim at the high-quality development goal of building a domestically first-class and internationally leading university in the labor and trade union sector. He stressed that focusing on the high-quality development goal and following the requirements of trade union on "service, system, brand, innovation, digitalization & intelligence", CULR will comprehensively implement four "major programs", i.e. program of soul-casting by party leadership, program of breakthrough in characteristic disciplines, program of talent cultivation and quality improvement, and program of leapfrog development of scientific research and think tanks, and profoundly advance four "major plans", i.e. plan of teaching force cultivation, plan of cadres and workers training, plan of international and regional exchanges, and plan of governance capacity upgrading, so as to contribute more strength to building a powerful country and the great revitalization of Chinese nation.

On the eve of the anniversary, more than ten academic organizations, research institutes and universities engaged in labor science studies in China jointly launched the "national academic research community on labor science". At the celebration conference, Chairman Yang Zhiming read out the community establishment initiative. The "national collaborative platform for innovative research on trade union work" was established simultaneously.

Many retired professors and alumni came to celebrate the birthday of their alma mater. The representatives of retired professors Wu Zongsheng, Wang Yongxi, Tian Kairong, Du Wanqi and Chen Ying, and the alumni representatives Zhu Yanling, Liu Xinqiang, Chen Jinwen, Wang Yan and Yang Shuigen were invited to the stage to accept flowers presented by young students.

"He whose roots are firm, his flowers will be luxuriant; he whose sources are deep, his lights will be far-reaching." Standing at a new historical starting point, CULR will continue to uphold Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, adhere to the orientation of socialist education and the fundamental mission of establishing morality and cultivating people, hold high the two banners of "labor" and "trade union", cleave to the ambition and belief unswervingly, inspire endogenous motivation with reform and innovation, and create greater miracles by diligence and hard work, so as to inject new vitality and contribute new strength to the prosperity of China's labor movement and education causes.

(Publicity Department of the Party Committee (Convergence Media Center))