On January 10, the "Annual Presidents Meeting on Building World-Class Universities and Annual Presidents Forum" was held at Harbin Institute of Technology. Tan Zhemin, President of Nanjing University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences attended the meeting.
Zhang Yunming, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, Zhang Qixiang, Vice-Governor of Heilongjiang Province, Wang Hesheng, Vice-Mayor of Harbin City, and Luan Zongtao, Deputy Director of the Department of Degree Management & Postgraduate Education, Ministry of Education and Deputy Director of the Office of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. Han Jiecai, President of Harbin Institute of Technology, gave the welcoming remarks. Presidents of 13 universities including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Nanjing University, Zhejiang University, University of Science and Technology of China, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Harbin Institute of Technology, University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and University of Macao joined the meeting to discuss topics such as "The Mission and Responsibility of World-Class Universities in Building a Strong Nation Through Education", "Practical Pathways for World-Class Universities to Promote Integrated Development of Education, Science, and Talent", and "The Role and Value Contribution of World-Class Universities in Shaping New-Quality Productivity."
During the event, Tan Zhemin delivered a speech titled "Carrying out the Mission of a First-Class University in the midst of In-Depth Reform and Openness." He said that accelerating the construction of world-class universities with Chinese characteristics should be based on the fundamental objectives of cultivating moral character and serving the country, and that Chinese universities should focus on the frontiers of science and technology in the world, face the major strategic needs of the country, follow the laws of higher education, meet the needs of their own development and construction, and absorb the advanced experience of the world's first-class universities. He said that in recent years, NJU has achieved a series of progress and results through the reform of institutional mechanisms and the expansion of opening up internally and externally; looking to the future, NJU will continue to adhere to the tradition, be determined to innovate, and endeavour to achieve the service of the country's major strategic needs and the development of the university itself.
At the subsequent roundtable meeting of the Annual Presidents Forum, 13 universities jointly released the Harbin Declaration of the Annual Presidents Forum. The Annual Presidents Meeting on Building World-Class Universities aims to promote the development of world-class universities in China and enhance exchanges between universities. Its inaugural session was held in March 2003 and has been held annually since then.
