I. Background Information
On October 17, 2015, “Belt and Road Initiative” University Alliance, jointly established by Lanzhou University (LZU), Fudan University, Beijing Normal University and Ural National Economic University of Russia, was founded in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, and reached an agreement named Dunhuang Consensus. Guided by the vision of “Connectivity, Openess, Inclusiveness, Innovation and Cooperation”, Dunhuang Consensus aims to forge a common community for higher education, promotes all-round communication and cooperation between countries and universities along the road in education, technology and culture and serves to the eco-social development of the countries and regions along the road. The alliance held profound theme forums in Dunhuang on September, 2016, September 2017 and Septeber 2018 respectively, during which the alliance regulation was worked out to extend further communication and cooperation. By now, it hosts 170 member universities and Lanzhou University is the sectary-general unit.
II. “Belt and Road Initiative” University Alliance Theme Forum
On September 18, 2016, the first “Belt and Road Initiative” University Alliance Theme Forum, as one of the activities in Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo, was held in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. The presidents and school representitives from 110 universities at home and abroad assembled in Dunhuang to explore development plan for higher education of China. Wangcheng, president of Lanzhou University, declared that the Dunhuang Consensus was released which advocated to establish high-level university alliance think tank. He also said that Lanzhou University would shoulder the role as sectary-general unit to undertake the responsibility of serving to alliance construction and development, and wrote down a new chapter with member universities in talents exchange, Scientific cooperation and collaborate teaching.
On September 20, 2017, 2017 President Forum of “Belt and Road Initiative” University Alliance, focusing on the communication and exchange about “Improving University Alliance, Promoting First-class University Construction”, was held in Dunhuang.
On September 24th, Lanzhou University and Department of Education of Gansu Province hosted the 2018 “Belt and Road Initiative” University Alliance Ecological Civilization Theme Forum, during which participants both at home and abroad shared new achievements in the construction of colleges and universities, which depicts a new chapter in the “Belt and Road Initiative” higher education community and explores the experience of “Belt and Road Initiative” ecological civilization construction.
Yan Chunhua, president of LZU and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, gave a welcome speech and introduced the basic situation of LZU and the “Belt and Road Initiative” college alliance. Yan Chunhua said that the forum was held under the framework of the "Belt and Road Initiative". Geographically, most countries and regions along the road face the common pressing challenges of ecosystem sustainability and climate change. Gansu Province is a typical representative of biodiversity and ecosystem types. After nearly 110 years of development, LZU has been ranked among the top in the country for ecological and related disciplines, contributing more to the defarming-and-reafforestation project, soil erosion control, natural forest protection, wind and sand control, water-saving and drought resistance, and agricultural and livestock breeding development in Gansu. Through a series of protection and ecological gorvernance, a relatively complete experience in the construction of ecological civilization has been accumulated, providing theories and practices reference to the countries and regions along the road.