Chen Xu attends gathering, symposium marking Shenzhen SEZ’s 40th anniversary

Tsinghua to contribute more to Shenzhen's development

On Wednesday a grand gathering was held in China to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in southern Guangdong province.

Chen Xu, Secretary of the CPC Tsinghua University Committee, was present at the grand gathering.

Forty role models and pioneers in innovation and entrepreneurship were honored for their contributions, including two alumni of Tsinghua - Feng Guanping, former President of the Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Shenzhen, and Li Yi, Chairman of the Shenzhen Appotronics Corporation Ltd.

Tsinghua University will continue to make contributions in personnel training and exchange, scientific research, achievement transformation and strategic consultation to the development of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, said Chen in her speech after the gathering.

Since China's reform and opening up, Tsinghua has always insisted on emancipating the mind, and making reforms and innovation in running a school, and is committed to developing world-class higher education institution and disciplines, Chen said.

She pointed out that the university has been involved in construction of the SEZ for a long time. In 1996, Tsinghua founded a research institute in Shenzhen and established a graduate school with Shenzhen city in 2001.

The Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute and Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School was established in 2014 and 2019 respectively, according to Chen.

She stressed that Tsinghua will launch a high-level education system in innovation and entrepreneurship and intensify effort in making innovations and breakthroughs in key core technologies.

She promised that it will also play an active role in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and make a greater contribution to the "Two Centenary Goals", as well as the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

After the grand gathering, Chen was present at a symposium when she and some alumni communicated on the latest progress of the university and the 40-year history of the SEZ.

She urged the alumni to keep the original intention of China's reform and opening-up in mind and shoulder their responsibilities to make more achievements in serving the country.

Many outstanding alumni are bravely playing a part in line with the trend of the times, actively participating in the economic and social development of the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao area, and making positive contributions to the construction of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.

Alumni delivered speeches and shared their experiences of how they have grown with the Special Economic Zone since reform and opening up.

After listening carefully to alumni speeches and introductions, Chen Xu fully affirmed the work of the Shenzhen Tsinghua University Alumni Association and thanked alumni for their contributions to Shenzhen. She pointed out that it is necessary to think deeply about how to better integrate the construction of the school with the development of the Special Economic Zone in the new era.

Chen Xu expressed her hope that in the future, everyone will seize the development opportunities of the Greater Bay Area, actively participate in the construction of the pilot demonstration zone and create more "Shenzhen miracles" at "Shenzhen Speed".

Honor winner Feng Guanping, born in 1946, worked as a teacher at Tsinghua after graduating from its Department of Precision Instruments in 1970. He is the founder and chairman of Grahope New Materials Technologies Inc.

Feng took the lead in bringing forward 'the material of the 21st century' -- graphene -- and is a pioneer, promoter and industry leader in China's graphene industry. He is also a successful practitioner in scientific and technological innovation and incubation and joint industry-university-research mechanisms.

The other winner, Li Yi, born in 1970, began his studies in Tsinghua's Department of Automobile Engineering in 1986. As a pioneer in the display industry, he led his team to be the world's first to develop ALPD laser display technology in 2007.

This technology was hailed as the future trend for the industry by international peers and has been industrialized worldwide. The company was also among the few high-tech enterprises in China that owned technologies with original patents and system industrialization.