On18May2021, Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), attended and addressed the Belt and Road Digital Trade Talents Education Dialogue upon invitation from Tsinghua University.

Mr. Chen Dehai stated that the year 2020 is a vital milestone in the development of ASEAN-China relations. The two sides have achieved a historic breakthrough as each other's largest trading partner. The successful signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement marks the birth of the world's largest free trade area. The year 2021 will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-China Dialogue partnership, and the ASEAN-China relations in the new era will embrace in a broader prospect for development. He stressed that digital talents training is transferring from discipline-oriented to industry demand-oriented, from professional segmentation to crossover integration. The goal of talent training has also changed from serving digital economy to supporting and leading digital economic development. Regarding the cultivation of digital trade talents in the future, Chen Dehai pointed out that exploration should be carried out from the following four aspects, namely creating a new system by resourcessharing, cultivating new talents by disciplineintegration, innovating ways to build new platforms and exploring new paths through international cooperation.

Mr. Vladimir ImamovichNorov, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Mr. Wei Jianguo, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China, Mr. Essam Khamis, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Higher Education and Researches of Egypt, and Mr. Sun Jiaguang, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and former Deputy Director-General of National Natural Science Foundation of China, were invited to attend and address the Dialogue. Representatives from over 600 universities and colleges and more than 1000 cross-border e-commerce companies participated online.