Seminar highlights foreign trade cooperation, language service development in Yangtze Delta

A seminar on high-quality development of foreign trade cooperation and language services in the Yangtze River Delta region was held recently on the Changning campus of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics (SUIBE). More than 150 experts, scholars and teachers from across the country participated.

Attendees included Shen Yi, vice president of SUIBE; Zheng Liang, vice president of the China Enterprise Association for Foreign Economic Cooperation and Trade; Chen Jiang, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce; Wang Lifei, president of the International Business and Language Service Working Committee of the China Enterprise Association for Foreign Economic Cooperation and Trade, as well as representatives from Bright Food Group and Huayi Group.

The conference, according to Shen, aimed to deepen the reform of business foreign language education in the Yangtze River Delta region, and promote the integration of high-quality educational resources, and collaborative development in the field of business language services.

The Yangtze River Delta Expert Committee for International Business and Language Services was officially established during the meeting.

Zheng stated in his address that the Yangtze River Delta, as one of China's most economically dynamic regions, is a crucial platform for national modernization and global competition. The launch of the Expert Guidance Committee not only aligns with the national strategy for the integrated development of the delta region, but also represents a significant measure to promote the deep integration of intelligent and industrialized language services with international trade.

"Professional development must facilitate collaborative cooperation between universities and enterprises, among universities, and even with international resources," Wang noted in his speech. He suggested jointly working with enterprises, moving classrooms into companies and also inviting companies into classrooms, as well as enhancing mutual exchanges, cooperation and collaborative talent cultivation with enterprises and industries.

Experts unanimously agreed that business foreign languages are never an isolated island. In an era intertwined with artificial intelligence and major power dynamics, there is a need to reconstruct the professional connotation with a more open posture, making technology an amplifier of language capabilities and cultural insight the bridge to international competence, thereby jointly shaping the future of Business English education.