Acting on the Global Development Initiative for Achieving UN SDGs

On November 16, 2022, the launch ceremony of Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center (Tsinghua SEA) campus was held in Bali, Indonesia as the 17th summit of the Group of 20 (G20) opened. More than one hundred people, including Wang Hongwei, Vice President of Tsinghua University, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment, Indonesia, Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Cherie Nursalim, Vice Chairman of United in Diversity Foundation (UID), Gordon Duff, Honorable President of United in Diversity Foundation, Tantowi Yahya, President of United in Diversity Foundation, representatives from the School of Continuing Education, Office of International Affairs, Medical School, Institute for Sustainable Development Goals, Education Foundation of Tsinghua University as well as other related organizations, alumni representatives from Tsinghua University in Indonesia, and representatives of Indonesian universities and NGOs attended the event.

Launch ceremony

Wang Hongwei said in his opening remarks that Tsinghua SEA is an exciting new step within the framework of Tsinghua Global Strategy. With the Center as an exchange platform, Tsinghua and UID have joined hands with partners from Southeast Asia and beyond in developing talent training programs, academic exchange and cooperation, and keeping our commitments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, and the New Era Bali Kerthi Economic Roadmap launched by President Joko Widodo.

Wang reflected on the development path and achievements of the Center since 2018. The Center has been advancing talent cultivation, academic forums, cultural exchanges and other aspects. At the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Indonesia diplomatic relations, Indonesian President Joko Widodo sent a special letter to acknowledge the positive role played by Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center in promoting education and cultural exchanges between the two countries. The successful completion of the Happy Digital X Program in 2021 has laid a good foundation for the future training of more outstanding and innovative young people with an international perspective. Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Center has also held forums and discussions on challenging issues of our time, including public health, digital transformation, and AI governance, to facilitate more extensive and in-depth cooperation between China and Indonesia and to make positive contribution to building a better, stronger and healthier future.

Wang said that Tsinghua SEA would become a key platform to promote the cooperation and exchange between China and Indonesia, in Southeast Asia, and in the global scale towards a balanced, coordinated, and inclusive community. He said that Tsinghua will attach more importance to the cooperation with its global partners to bring about changes and solutions for the world. Tsinghua is looking forward to exploring emerging opportunities for greater collaboration and contributions for the world development in the long run.

Wang Hongwei speaks at the launch ceremony

Cherie Nursalim said in her remarks that the opening of Tsinghua SEA campus marked the successful start of cooperation between UID and Tsinghua University. The Bali Campus, where the Center is located, is a global learning hub that will provide a wealth of content for people from all walks of life and a strong complement to university studies. In addition, the Center will provide full support to the participants in their networking, capacity building and spatial development to create innovative solutions that directly contribute to the UN SDGs.

Cherie Nursalim speaks at the launch ceremony

In his opening remarks, Gordon Duff said Tsinghua and other universities in the world with the best science, technology and research are very welcome to come to Bali to conduct cooperation, so that the best and brightest from all over the world can share and propose solutions to each other and contribute their wisdom to create a better life.

Gordon Duff speaks at the launch ceremony

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Sandiaga Uno addressed the launch ceremony respectively. They started with congratulations to UID and Tsinghua and expressed that it is of special significance to witness the opening of the Tsinghua SEA campus in Bali, thanked Tsinghua University for its contribution in the diversified cooperation between China and Indonesia and expressed hopes that the Center will become an important platform for China-Indonesia education cooperation and global innovation cooperation.

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Sandiaga Uno

Before the launch ceremony, Wang Hongwei and his delegation held a meeting with Cherie Nursalim, Vice Chair of GITI Group and UID. The two sides reviewed the work carried out in the past four years through joint efforts and thanked each other for their efforts and contributions to the official launch of the park. In addition, they had a full exchange of views on the development of academic exchange activities and the operation and future development of the campus after the opening.

Wang Hongwei exchanges views with Cherie Nursalim

Afterwards, Wang Hongwei had a cordial exchange with some alumni representatives in Indonesia. Wang introduced to the alumni the important achievements made by the University in recent years and the progress of the university's globalization, and acknowledged the positive role alumni have played in the mutual accommodation and mutual learning in various fields between China and Indonesia. He also thanked the alumni for their constant attention and support to the work of the University and hoped that they would actively participate in the construction and development of the University in the future, especially support the development and construction of Tsinghua SEA, help the implementation of the University's 2030 Global Strategy, and contribute to the high-quality development of Tsinghua as a world-class university with Chinese characteristics.

Wang Hongwei and his delegation exchange ideas with alumni

During his visit to Indonesia, Wang also attended the special cooperation meeting of the China-Indonesia Joint Research Center for Vaccines and Genomics, and discussed the cooperation between China and Indonesia in the fields of vaccines and genomics and other related biological medicine. Representatives of medical colleges, Indonesian universities and Chinese and Indonesian pharmaceutical companies attended the event.

Special Cooperation Meeting of China-Indonesia Joint Research Center for Vaccines and Genomics

As an important part of the full implementation of Tsinghua’s global strategy formulated in 2016, Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center (Tsinghua SEA) was founded in October 2018. The Center is managed and operated by the School of Continuing Education, Tsinghua University, and UID has assisted in the operation and construction of related facilities. Since its establishment, the Center, located in Indonesia with impact on the whole Southeast Asia, has actively engaged in personnel training and people-to-people exchanges, and contributed to the Belt and Road Initiative and the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. With the Center, Tsinghua University will work with global partners to create a platform for sharing and innovation with academic, business, government and other social sectors, and actively explore education innovation and education ecosystem construction.

The Tsinghua SEA Campus in Bali is now officially operational after nearly four years of design, preparation, construction, furnishing and decoration since it broke ground in October 2018. The campus covers an area of 17,000 square meters, and the floor area is about 5,500 square meters with a total of five floors. The building can accommodate more than 300 people to work or study at the same time.

Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center

From Office of International Affairs

Editor: Li Han