Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited Hainan University (HNU) on March 26 to learn about its construction of world-class disciplines and the opening-up of education.

Sun was accompanied by HNU Party Secretary Wu Yaoting and HNU President Luo Qingming, also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, on the visit.

During the visit, Luo reported in detail HNU's efforts to the Vice-Premier, saying that HNU has taken the opportunity of developing higher education with joint efforts from both national and provincial levels and made breakthroughs in student quality, doctoral programs, and faculty team construction.

Sun stressed that HNU should implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, expand the opening-up of education, promote cooperation in greater scope and broader fields, and provide support for the construction of a high-quality and high-standard Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP).

Sun emphasized efforts should be made to innovate the introduction mechanism of domestic and foreign educational resources, coordinate with key domestic institutions to support the development of colleges and universities in Hainan Province, promote the establishment of more cooperation with overseas institutions, and enhance the ability of independent training of talents.

Sun visited the HNU-ASU Joint International Tourism College, Hainan University (HAITC) to learn details about its opening-up of education. She also went to the room for Party members where she communicated with students to see how they have learnt about the Party's history.

As the first Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution in China and Hainan Province, HAITC undertakes the important missions of cultivating high-quality tourism talents and promoting the in-depth development of Sino-foreign higher education cooperation and exchanges.

HAITC fully supports the development of Hainan Province, integrates Chinese and western educational concepts, highlights internationalization, innovation, and interdisciplinary characteristics, provides a complete and progressive education system covering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, and strives to cultivate industry leaders who are familiar with international rules, have cross-cultural competence and international competitiveness.

While introducing high-quality educational resources, the college simultaneously establishes a risk prevention mechanism. International faculty and administrative management teams have been established to promote mutual learning of diverse civilizations in various ways.

Three undergraduate majors integrating tourism and other disciplines have introduced integrated resources. Phased breakthroughs have been made in team building and personnel training, serving as an excellent model for Hainan Province to open up to the outside world.

HNU takes cultivating talents as its fundamental task and supports the development of the Hainan FTP. The university has conducted a number of major scientific and technological projects in multiple fields, including system innovation, ecological civilization, cultural tourism, tropical high-efficiency agriculture, marine technology, life and health, and information technology.

Hainan Province has introduced 102 Sino-foreign cooperative schools and institutions in recent years. Relevant departments will continue to focus on the key tasks identified in the implementation plan for the construction of the Hainan FTP, and guide and support the province to enhance opening-up of education.

Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan (middle), also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visits the HNU-ASU Joint International Tourism College, Hainan University (HAITC) on March 26.