Message for the 113th Anniversary of Tsinghua University

Qiu Yong, Secretary of the CPC Tsinghua University Committee and Li Luming, President of Tsinghua University

As spring returns, Tsinghua University is poised to celebrate its 113th anniversary in April. On behalf of the University, we extend the warmest greetings and best wishes to all alumni, students, faculty, and staff at home and abroad. We express our heartfelt gratitude to all who have shown care and support for the development of the University over the years.

2023 marked the beginning of the full implementation of the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress on all fronts. With a pragmatic approach and strict standards, we have carried out the thematic education campaign to study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We formulated the Action Plan of Tsinghua University for Fully Implementing the Spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC. Focusing on the theme of high-quality development, the University has charted a new course for becoming a leading world-class university.

Over the past year, we have cultivated talents with even greater confidence than ever before. We were honored to receive the National Teaching Achievement Award for Implementing the “Three-Pronged Approach”, Cultivating Mission-Driven and Excellence-Pursuing Innovative Talents. We established the National Graduate College for Engineers to cultivate high-level engineering talents. We founded Xiuzhong College to nurture future leaders in global green development. We initiated the “Pan Deng Project,” a new model for nurturing innovative, first-class talents in physics. We fully implemented the Physical Education Program, the Aesthetic Education Program, and the Labor Education Program. We also reformed and innovated courses, such as Situation and Policy. Over one million college students completed this course online. We developed the first batch of pilot courses incorporating AI to empower education. The student team of the GRID collaboration also announced the first scientific data release from their NanoSat instruments for gamma-ray burst monitoring. The original drama Ma Lan Hua Kai, performed by a Tsinghua troupe, was staged in Hong Kong and Macao for the first time. Tsinghua athletes achieved excellence at the FISU Summer World University Games in Chengdu. The “Hai-Qing” volunteer team, a joint initiative between Tsinghua University and Beijing’s Haidian district, actively participated in local community services. After four years of renovation, the Old Library reopened. The North Gymnasium of Tsinghua University, the largest indoor sports facility at the University, is now in full use. For the class of 2023, 83% of the graduates found employment in key sectors important to the economy and society as a whole.

Over the past year, we have gone even further in serving the country's major strategic needs. We led the development of the world’s first modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant, which has started commercial operation. We also developed the world’s first fully system-integrated memristor computing-in-memory chip. The two achievements were nominated for China’s top 10 science advances in 2023. We contributed to the scientific operation of the National Major Science and Technology Infrastructure -- Deep Underground and Ultra-low Radiation Background Facility for Frontier Physics Experiments (DURF). We led the development and launch of the world's first ultra-high-speed next-generation Internet backbone with a bandwidth of 1,200G bits per second (1.2T). We have developed ChatGLM, a 100-billion-scale large language model and achieved competitive performance with GPT-4. Our research teams also discovered the immune recognition mechanism of γδT cells and obtained the first direct imaging of recycling inflow of the galaxy in the early universe. We designed the China National Archives of Publications and Culture in Beijing. We also published the first volume of the series The Tsinghua University Warring States Bamboo Manuscripts: Studies and Translations and the first 30 volumes of the series General Textual Research on the Worldwide Dissemination of Editions of Marxist Classical Works. We implemented the core strategy of strengthening our university through talents. Academician Gao Huajian, a world-renowned scientist in mechanics, materials, and engineering science, joined Tsinghua University as a chair professor. Six faculty members were elected as academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Two professors were awarded the title of “Distinguished Professor of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Tsinghua University.” We attracted and gathered more top-notch talents to accelerate the building of a global talents center and an innovation hub.

Over the past year, we have made remarkable progress in terms of international exchange and cooperation. In 2023, more than 8,000 Tsinghua students participated in academic and cultural exchanges abroad, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. We hosted the first International Academic Forum on “Paleography and Chinese Civilization” and the 11th World Peace Forum. We further expanded our high-level research cooperation network with other universities and deepened our collaborative efforts with leading international companies in technology research. We launched the International Joint Mission on Climate Change and Carbon Neutrality and initiated the “Carbon Neutrality and Energy System Transformation” multilateral joint research project. We actively explored cooperation opportunities with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative and further strengthened exchanges and cooperation with key countries and regions. We also played a unique role in promoting people-to-people exchanges and enhancing mutual understanding.

Over the past year, we strived to lead high-quality development through high-quality Party building. We conducted the thematic education campaign for studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and implemented the Action Plan of Tsinghua University for Fully Implementing the Spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC. The plan is comprised of six tasks, 23 actions, and 50 duties. We also established a regular mechanism to consolidate and expand the outcomes of thematic education. We strengthened the construction of the leadership team and rallied all forces to strive towards our shared vision. We offered centralized training and inspirational Party lectures to the nearly 30,000 party members of the University. To maintain and promote the fine traditions of Tsinghua University, we held a symposium to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the birth of former Tsinghua president Jiang Nanxiang, who is forever respected in the hearts of those affiliated with Tsinghua. We proudly share inspiring stories of Tsinghua's community members making significant contributions to society and national development, which have garnered widespread acclaim.

2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and it is also a crucial year for implementing the strategy of building a leading country in education and promoting the high-quality development of the University. We must unite more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, keep in mind his earnest instructions, and continuously deepen reform. We will focus on promoting new productive forces, contributing to the building of China into a great modern socialist country in all respects, and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. Together, let’s compose a chapter of high-quality development for Tsinghua University.

Our anniversary is a festival celebrated by all the people of Tsinghua, and our alma mater will always be a warm home for alumni. In this joyful and harmonious moment of spring, welcome home!