The School of Global Leadership at Renmin University of China (RUC) held the opening ceremony on Nov 8 for the 2025 Overseas Elite Program on Governance. The inaugural cohort, consisting of 32 political cadre members from six ruling parties of Southern African countries, gathered in Beijing to embark on their academic journey in China.

The School of Global Leadership at Renmin University of China holds the opening ceremony for the 2025 Overseas Elite Program on Governance on November 8. [Photo/ruc.edu.cn]

The event marked the students' first official on-campus ceremony following a pre-opening session held in Tanzania in September. All participants are key political figures from their respective countries, serving in leading positions within governing parties and government institutions, and are regarded as core members of their nations' future leadership.

Zhang Donggang, president of RUC, delivers a speech during the opening ceremony for the 2025 Overseas Elite Program on Governance. [Photo/ruc.edu.cn]

Zhang Donggang, president of RUC, extended a warm welcome to the students. He noted that cultivating global leadership requires deep insight into the fundamental question of the times —"Where is the world heading?", and the proactive efforts to respond to it. He emphasized that China's four global initiatives embody Chinese wisdom, solutions and strength in addressing this question, while offering new ideas, connotations and pathways for shaping global leadership in the new era.

Zhang highlighted that the School of Global Leadership, the first of its kind among Chinese universities, is dedicated to advancing human progress and global development. He encouraged students to take this program as a new starting point to strengthen critical thinking while contributing to shared development, to refine decision-making skills while safeguarding common security, to embrace inclusiveness while promoting mutual understanding among civilizations and to foster innovation while participating in global governance. He also expressed the hope that China and Africa will continue to deepen cooperation on their respective modernization paths, jointly advancing the building of a community with a shared future for humanity toward a peaceful, secure, prosperous and progressive world.

Students from the 2025 Overseas Elite Program on Governance appear together on the stage after receiving their campus cards at Renmin University of China. [Photo/ruc.edu.cn]

During the ceremony, the university released the study and training plan of the program, outlining its research directions, coursework and field studies. Students will undertake systematic learning and field research in six representative Chinese cities — Beijing, Yueyang, Jinggangshan, Fuzhou, Yiwu and Suzhou — gaining deeper understanding of the achievements and practices of Chinese modernization.

The opening ceremony was attended by over 100 guests, including representatives from the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the China International Development Cooperation Agency, as well as diplomats from the embassies of Syria, Romania, Morocco, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Guinea, Lebanon, Somalia, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Azerbaijan and Sudan, along with media representatives and RUC faculty members.