Distinguished Deputy Director Gao, Chairman Liu, Director Cui, UNICEF Representative to China Ms. Sande, distinguished guests, dear young friends, young leaders, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon!

In this season of renewal and reflection, we gather once again in Beijing to jointly usher in the grand opening of the “Global Young Leaders Dialogue Annual Forum 2025.” On behalf of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), I extend our warmest welcome and sincere gratitude to all distinguished guests, experts, scholars, and young leaders from around the world attending this forum!

First, allow me to extend special gratitude to Haidian District Human Resources Bureau and Haidian District Foreign Affairs Office. Thanks to their enthusiastic invitation and continuous support, our forum is being held in Haidian District for the first time as an important part of “Wisdom·Haidian” Talent Week. I also want to thank our partners: Zhongguancun No.1, Yenching Academy of Peking University, Schwarzman College of Tsinghua University, AI Genesis Community, Young Bled Strategic Forum, Project Management Institute (PMI) China, Beijing Eco-hub, Silicon Park, Banu Hotpot, and other institutions for their tremendous support. It is through your invaluable assistance that this cross-border young leaders dialogue has become so vibrant and impactful.

Since its inception in 2020, the Global Young Leaders Dialogue program will celebrate its fifth anniversary next month. Over the past five years, we have attracted over 1,200 outstanding young professionals from more than 80 countries, building a truly influential international platform for youth exchange. We have continuously organized our annual forum and invited young professionals from overseas to China. Last year, 17 young leaders came to China for the first time.

Besides, we also host a series of events and activities for young people. For example, we have organized young people to visit Beijing Municipal People’s Congress and Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), to communicate with deputies and understand how China’s political system works. We also take young professionals to participate in the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing and the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, offering them great opportunities to explore China’s high-level opening-up in the economic field.

We remain deeply grateful for President Xi Jinping’s warm letter to the participants in 2021 and cherish the sincere blessings from numerous international leaders. As President Xi wrote, “We welcome more overseas young people to come to China for exchanges, and we hope that young people at home and abroad will enhance mutual understanding, develop friendship and achieve mutual success through mutual learning, thus contributing youth power to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.” This heartfelt support continues to inspire us forward.

For this year’s annual forum, we received nearly 300 applications from over 50 countries. After rigorous selection, we invited 29 exceptional young representatives from 21 countries and regions. Among them are senior experts from policy research institutions, researchers deeply engaged in artificial intelligence, rising stars from academia and pioneers in innovation and entrepreneurship. These outstanding young individuals from around the world, with their diverse backgrounds and remarkable achievements, embody the vitality and responsibility of contemporary global youth.

During the preliminary agenda, we organized visits to Zhongguancun Science Park, renowned technology enterprises, and prestigious universities, along with an icebreaker reception. Notably, this year’s forum introduced a new workshop themed The Future Landscape of ‘AI Plus’ and International Cooperation. We believe these diverse activities will enable participating young representatives and young leaders to engage in in-depth exchanges, inspire one another, and lay a solid foundation for future international collaboration.

This year’s theme, “Decoding the Future with Young Minds”, will focus on cutting-edge topics such as “Young Leaders’ Strategies: Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems” and “Young Leaders’ Solutions: Technology and AI Addressing Global Challenges”. This forum aims to explore three core dimensions and build three pathways:

First, the pathway to building “ecosystems that sustain the future”. We will collectively explore how global and local governments, institutions, universities, and industries can collaborate to create a more resilient and supportive innovation ecosystem that better empowers the dreams of young entrepreneurs.

Second, the pathway from “Idea to Impact”. We will hear how young entrepreneurs overcome real-world challenges and leverage advanced technologies like AI to refine sparks of inspiration into solutions that generate tangible, positive impact.

Third is the pathway of shaping the “spirit of responsible innovation”. We will explore how to deeply integrate collaboration, creativity, and resilience while pursuing commercial success and technological breakthroughs, ensuring our innovation journey consistently leads toward a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Youth are vital forces driving the progress of our era. Against the backdrop of numerous challenges facing global development today, we need the wisdom and responsibility of young people more than ever before. Let us foster understanding with open hearts and seek breakthroughs with innovative minds, jointly contributing our youthful energy to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Here, I sincerely wish all of you to forge friendships and spark new insights through these dialogues, making this gathering a new starting point for personal growth and international cooperation.

Thank you all!