On the afternoon of June 10, ECUPL hosted an online seminar of the 2020 " Belt and Road Initiative Economic Law Student Practice Center" Project. Attending the seminar were Chen Jingying, the Vice President of ECUPL; Liu Danhua, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Graduate School; Ling Shurong, the Director of the Bureau of Justice, Jing’an District; representatives from the eight law firms that formed the off-campus practice base; 20 international students from 17 countries through ECUPL’s International Economic and Trade Law Master’s program on the Belt and Road Initiative. The theme of the seminar was how to strengthen cooperation in economic and trade legal practice, within the context of grave public health emergencies.
Vice President Chen Jingying first welcomed the guests on behalf of the university, and expressed her heartfelt appreciation to the Bureau of Justice, Jing'an District and eight law firms for their strong support in the training of our ECUPL's international students. She pointed out that ECUPL, as the "Oriental Pearl of Legal Education", has always been the first choice for international students hoping to study Chinese law in China. In 2014, the school became the organizer of the " Scholarship of Youth of Excellence Scheme of China ", and only two of more than 700 universities with legal education programs throughout China won this honor. Since its inception, we have seen many positive results from running the program. In 2018, with the help of each of our cooperative partners, ECUPL created the "dual tutor" training model, which provided channels and platforms for international students to learn about China's legal system, legal culture and practice. Due to the impact of COVID-19, students cannot attend regular offline internships. However, ECUPL has worked diligently with the Bureau of Justice, Jing'an District and eight law firms to arrange this online legal practice seminar for the students. This has been arranged in the hope that the students will use the online platform to discuss the topic of strengthening cooperation in economic and trade legal practice within the context of severe public health emergencies, whilst also learning about legal practice from the law firms’ teachers.
Subsequently, the Director of Bureau of Justice, Jing’an District, Ling Shurong expressed her appreciation for the strong support from ECUPL. Even despite being affected by COVID-19, the school was still able to continue the activities concerning the 2020 "Belt and Road Initiative Economic Law Student Practice Center" Project by moving them online. Moreover, a number of requirements were put forward for "cloud connection" and "cloud internship". Although the form of teaching has been simplified, this did not come at the expense of quality. The school has narrowed the psychological distance between teachers and students, despite the substantial physical distance. She hoped that the teachers and students would be able to build friendships and grow together through in-depth exchanges on the legal profession, as well as each other’s lives and cultures. Finally, she wished every success for the online seminar and "cloud internship."
At the seminar, the representative Huang Ningning from Grandall Law Firm Shanghai branch and Shao Kaijun from S&P Law Firm Shanghai branch, together with student representatives, Toure Kounantcho Alice from Côte d'Ivoire, Perez Campos Mauricio from Costa Rica, expressed their opinions on the topic of strengthening economic and trade legal cooperation in context of grave public health emergencies. What follows was a free discussion stage, in which the attendees actively spoke up and agreed that although the COVID-19 still promises many uncertainties, countries around the world must strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of economics, trade, and legal practices, and each must make contributions to restarting global economic development.
The "Belt and Road Initiative Economic Law Student Practice Center" Project was officially launched in September 2017. It aims to innovate the training model of legal talents through cooperation between ECUPL and law firms, helping international students who come to China to deepen their understanding of Chinese legal practice. This helps to build a bridge of exchange and mutual learning, to cultivate international legal talents, and serve the promotion and development of the Belt and Road Initiative.
