MACAU, July 25 - Yonghua Song, rector of the University of Macau (UM), was elected vice president of the China Association of Higher Education at the eighth meeting of the general assembly of the association held on 24 July in Beijing. During the meeting, Zhong Denghua, vice minister of education of China, gave a speech, and Du Yubo, president of the seventh council of the association, delivered a work report. The eighth council of the association was also elected at the meeting.

The meeting combined both online and in-person elements. The main venue was located in Beijing and nine other venues were set up in Hebei, Jilin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangdong, Chongqing, and Shaanxi. More than 600 members from all over China, including Hong Kong and Macao, participated in the meeting. 554 individuals were elected members of the association’s eighth council, with 184 of them serving as executive members, four of whom are from universities in Hong Kong and Macao. Du Yubo was elected president of the council. Hao Ping, party secretary of Peking University; Wang Xiqin, president of Tsinghua University; Jin Li, president of Fudan University; Yang Zhenbin, party secretary of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Lu Jian, president of Nanjing University; Wu Zhaohui, president of Zhejiang University; Shi Yigong, president of Westlake University, and Rector Song were elected vice presidents.　

Established in May 1983 as a national, academic, and non-profit social organisation under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, the China Association of Higher Education is formed by higher education institutions, social organisations and educators in the higher education sector, as well as institutions, enterprises, and individuals who support the development of higher education. It has established 68 branches, with more than 1,600 individual members. The association mainly focuses on theoretical research, academic exchange, professional training, exhibitions and presentations, international cooperation, advisory services, publication editing, and industry monitoring. In December 2021, the association was awarded the title of ‘national advanced social organisation’ by an office for the evaluation and commendation of advanced social organisations under the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The association has become one of the most active, influential, and cohesive national academic societies in the field of higher education in China. It is also a place for practitioners in higher education to exchange ideas, an important platform for the cooperation and development of people from all walks of life who care about education, and an important force in promoting education to the outside world.