In order to further implement “opinions on strengthening the construction of new think tanks with Chinese characteristics” proposed by the general office of the communist party of China and the state council and “opinions on strengthening new think tanks of Jiangsu province” proposed by the general office of the Jiangsu provincial party committee and government, as well as to understand the important speech spirit of general secretary JinpingXi about that Jiangsu is located in the intersection area of Belt & Road, Jiangsu Normal University relies on a wide range of comprehensive advantages, such as the completed disciplines, intensive talents and foreign academic exchanges. The university promotes vigorously the collaborative innovation in policy, production, study and research. First of all, the opening ceremony of Belt & Road Institute was held on November 11th 2015 with the cooperation of Xuzhou government. It opens a new chapter of Belt & Road study for Jiangsu Normal University. Director of the Propaganda Department of Jiangsu provincial party committee YanwenWang, secretary of Xuzhou municipal committee XinpingCao and secretary of the party committee of Jiangsu Normal University Xu Fangming inaugurated the institute. Government mayor Zhu Min and Jiangsu Normal University president GuihongHua signed an agreement Xuzhou government and Jiangsu normal university build Belt & Road Institute cooperatively”.
The only Belt & Road Institute in Jiangsu province is set up in Jiangsu Normal University. It possesses comprehensive advantages for serving Jiangsu province and participating in the research and consulting of construction of Belt & Road.
Jiangsu Normal University is a regional leading university which is supported by Jiangsu government and the ministry of education. In the last 60 years, Jiangsu Normal University has rooted in Huaihai area and played important roles of think tank, information base and talent pool in the development in north Jiangsu province. Belt & Road Institute was established by Jiangsu Normal University and Xuzhou government on November 11th 2015 with the cooperation of Xuzhou government. Jiangsu Normal University possesses comprehensive strengths and characteristic advantages for serving Jiangsu province and participating in the research and consulting of construction of Belt & Road. The features are listed as following:
(1) Complete academic disciplines can support the research and consultation for various subjects. Jiangsu Normal University offers 82 undergraduate programs, 26 first class disciplines of master degree program, one first class discipline of doctoral program, one postdoctoral research mobile station and covers 11 disciplines and curricula. Visibly, the complete disciplines can support the research and consulting work for Belt & Road Institute.
(2) A group of programs of international teaching and research institutions of humanities and social science can provide a good condition for the education cooperation and cultural exchanges with other countries along the way of Belt & Road. There are philosophy and social sciences research base of Jiangsu Province, decision consulting research base, research base of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics as well as three province-ministry co-construct research bases, three key research bases for philosophy and social sciences of Jiangsu higher education, one off-campus research base for humanities and social sciences, and two international issues research centers of Jiangsu higher education, etc. The university is equipped with international college, school of foreign studies, school of China and Russia, the international education and training center and other international teaching units. As the first one of qualified to receive foreign students in the colleges and universities, the university has established close relations with the United States, Britain, Japan, Korea, Australia, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and 35 other colleges and universities. It has received the foreign students from 26 countries and regions. Additionally, the university established the Confucius institute in the United States and Australia. The university carries out the cooperative programs and mutual recognition of credits projects with the United States, Australia, Japan, Russia, etc. And the teaching and management training programs are carried out with Harvard University, the University of Hong Kong and other world famous colleges and. It is, therefore, beneficial for education cooperation, talent cultivation and language and cultural exchange with the countries along the way of Belt & Road.
(3) A batch of laboratories and engineering technology research centers at provincial level and above can support science and technology exchange and production-study-research cooperation with the countries along the way of Belt & Road. The university is equipped with two collaborative innovation, one key laboratory, one engineering technology research center, one industrial design center, one construction center of state key laboratory, and three provincial key laboratories. The university set up a technology transfer center which can provide opportunities for our institute to carry out the scientific and technological cooperation with the countries along the way of Belt & Road. In addition, the university bought a high-performance computer cluster (57 nodes, 4.5 million yuan) which can provide reliable data support to the research and consultation of Belt & Road.
As one of the three key research bases for social sciences in Jiangsu province, Huaihai Development Research Institute has gained wider experience and has great influence on the study of Belt & Road area in recent 20 years. Preparations started in spring 1997 for the construction of Huaihai Development Research Institute. In September 1998, the Institute was approved as provincial social sciences key research base. It wasco-constructed by Propaganda Department of Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, Provincial Education Department and Jiangsu Normal University (Su Xuan [1998] No. 49, Su Jiao Ke [1998] No. 38), Then, the institute was selected as the provincial research base for philosophy and social sciences and provincial research base for decision-making consultation. And it was co-constructed by the university and Xuzhou government. In recent 20 years, Huaihai Development Research Institute focuses on the development research of north part of Jiangsu, Huaihai economic region and the area along the New Eurasian Land Bridge. The institute has gained fruitful achievements on the research and consultation and had positive effects on society with the distinctive characteristics. The main researchers have carried out studies on Belt & Road since 1990s, For instance, the comprehensive study on the regional economic development strategy - east Longhai area as an example (the original project funded by natural science fund of Jiangsu education committee, 1991), Development research of Xu-Lian economic zone (Project of the ninth five-year plan for Philosophy and social sciences research of Jiangsu province, 1997), “Strategy development research of functions of the centric city and Xu-Lian economic zone” (Key project of the ninth five-year plan for Philosophy and social sciences research of Jiangsu province, 1998), Spatial structure and organization evolution research of continental bridge economic belt (Project of the national natural science foundation, 1998), Coordinated development research of the new Eurasian land bridge economic belt (Project of ministry of education for humanities and social sciences, 2001). Through the projects, the institute has gained a series of important research achievements in the field of theory and practice and laid a good foundation for the research and consultation of Belt & Road. At present, Huaihai Development Research Institute is a trinity system, including provincial key sequence disciplines, provincial research base (social science research base, decision-making consultation research base) and provincial scientific research team, excellent social science innovation team, science and technology innovation team of Qian Lan project). According to the requirements of the construction of Belt & Road Institute, Huaihai Development Research Institute was upgraded at the end of 2015. The two institutes share the same team which can play a basic role in the development of Belt & Road Institute. Belt & Road Institute adheres to the general guideline of construction of new think tank with Chinese characteristics and “construction of the key research base dealing with global and regional problems. In accordance with the sequential step of Jiangsu province, China and world, the institute aims to become a new leading think tank with international influence in regions through deepeningthe reform of management system and innovating the organization form and operation mechanism.
