From August 10th to 18th, an online training themed “Governance and Improvement of Special Economic Zones (SEZs)” for students from Mekong countries was held. The training, at the invitation of Mekong Institute, was organized by Shenzhen Foundation for International Exchange and Cooperation (SFIEC), the Belt and Road Research Institute (Shenzhen) for International Cooperation and Development (BRRI), and the China Center for Special Economic Zone Research of Shenzhen University (CCSEZR).
Sponsored by Mekong Institute, this training is an integral part of the program to promote the joint development of cross-border SEZs under the framework of “Lancang-Mekong Cooperation”. With the support and participation of China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, it aims to build local capacity that helps government officials, agency leaders and business managers in planning and building SEZs in the Mekong region. Among the attendees were 26 students from Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ), Federation of Thai SMEs, Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam Maritime University, Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry of Myanmar, Ministry of Commerce of Myanmar and Dawei Special Economic Zone.
Speakers of the online training included Prof. Tao Yitao, Vice President of SFIEC, Director of BRRI and Director of CCSEZR, Prof. Yuan Yiming, Deputy Director of CCSEZR, Prof. Yuan Xiaojiang, Member of the Administration Committee, Party School of Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the CPC, Prof. Han Zhongxue, Deputy Director of BRRI and Prof. Han Jun, Deputy Director of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET). They gave online lectures and exchanged ideas with students on themes such as “Opportunities and Challenges of Mekong SEZs in the Post-pandemic Era”, “From SEZ to Pilot Free Trade Zone – Internal Logic and Implementation Method of China’s Path (Functions and Missions of China’s SEZs)”, “Formation and Building of SEZs and Regional Industrial Value Chains: Taking Shenzhen SEZ as an Example”. The lectures from these experts and scholars were well received by the students from the five Mekong countries and were highly praised by the Mekong Institute.
Prof. Tao is giving lectures on “Successful Experience and Lessons of Shenzhen SEZ”, and “From SEZ to Pilot Free Trade Zone – Internal Logic and Implementation Method of China’s Path (Functions and Missions of China’s SEZs)”
Prof. Yuan Yiming is giving lectures on the “Formation and Building of SEZs and Regional Industrial Value Chains”, and “Shenzhen's Innovation System Performance and Its Reference Significance”
Prof. Yuan Xiaojiang is giving a lecture on the “Opportunities and Challenges of Mekong SEZs in the Post-pandemic Era”
Prof. Han Zhongxue is giving a lecture on “From SEZ to Cross-border Economic Cooperation Zone: Model Copy or Path Selection”
Prof. Han Jun is giving a lecture on the “Development Status of SEZs and Cross-border Economic Cooperation Zones and its Evaluation”
This online course with Mekong Institute received friendly support and help from the School of Foreign Languages of Shenzhen University (SFLSZU).
All courses were conducted in the conference room for simultaneous interpretation practice courses, which is known as the most up-to-the-minute one among China's universities. The advanced simultaneous interpretation equipment and professional interpreters complemented each other, which not only ensured the quality and effect of the courses, but also showcased the leading simultaneous interpretation teaching software and hardware capabilities of SFLSZU, which impressed all students from the five Mekong countries.
Not long ago SFIEC, BRRI and Mekong Institute signed a memorandum of cooperation on strengthening the nurturing of experts and talent in the field of SEZ building and holding exchange activities.
This online training kicked off the implementation of the memorandum by the three parties. In the future, the three parties plan to gradually expand the above-mentioned cooperation to the fields of economic and trade facilitation, technological innovation, and higher vocational training.
As the only academic institution studying SEZ issues among the humanities and social sciences think tanks of Chinese universities, CCSEZR will continue to partner with BRRI to shoulder the responsibility and mission of promoting the successful experience of China's SEZs and providing emerging market economies with Chinese solutions to the challenges confronting them.
Students and lecturers pose for a group photo online
Prof. Tao and all offline staff pose for a group photo
