The International Chinese Education Conference was held in the Greater Bay Area, and explored new directions for cross-border cooperative education

The 2025 Symposium on the Global Convergence Development Model of International Chinese Education in the Universities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao-Greater Bay Area was held at Shenzhen University on 17-18 October. The conference was approved by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the PRC Ministry of Education (Project No. 24YHZ011), jointly organised by the School of Humanities of Shenzhen University and the Southern Alliance for International Chinese Education, and attended by experts and scholars from more than 20 universities from China and abroad.

At the opening ceremony, Prof Li Yonghua, Vice President of Shenzhen University, said that language is a vital element in national strength, and that Shenzhen University will assist the Greater Bay Area universities to make the most of their geographical advantages as well as in their teaching, research, and resources, and adopt the national strategy for international advancement.

Prof Ma Zili, Dean of the School of Humanities at Shenzhen University, described their ongoing study of practical international Chinese education over the past 42 years, which includes establishing a Confucius Institute at Prince Sultan University in Saudi Arabia, and a National Language Promotion Base.

Prof Li Donghui, Associate Vice-President (Experiential Learning Projects) of Lingnan University, delivered a keynote speech on Trends and Mechanisms for Hong Kong International Cooperative Education about the latest developments and noteworthy double and joint degree programmes offered by universities in Hong Kong. She emphasised that launching these projects with Chinese Mainland’s universities is crucial for strengthening education and also building up "Studying in Hong Kong" as a brand.

Prof Wu Jian, former Vice President of South China Normal University and President of the Southern Alliance for International Chinese Education, delivered a speech titled "Building a Prestigious International Chinese Education Development Community," proposing a four-pronged approach: consolidating key points, connecting collaborative lines, expanding coverage areas, and constructing an organic whole, thereby adopting a Chinese approach to the evolution of worldwide language education.

Presentations were also given by Wang Feng, Senior Project Director of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education, Prof Zhang Hongming, Dean of the International College at the Macau University of Science and Technology, and Prof Tao Hongyin from the University of California, Los Angeles. Prof Zhang spoke about Large Language Models in linguistic research, providing an in-depth analysis of the fundamental differences between the human brain and artificial intelligence (AI) in language comprehension, exploring technological bottlenecks and cognitive limitations, and the difference between encoding mechanisms and the human brain, suggesting different ways to develop International Chinese Education.

Prof Feng Dongmei, Secretary-General of the Southern Alliance for International Chinese Education, concluded that the conference had provided new perspectives and practical techniques for the international union and progress of international Chinese education.