Jia Wenjian, president of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) and deputy secretary of the CPC BFSU Committee, led a delegation to South Africa and Zimbabwe from Oct 11 to 18, advancing cooperation in education, African language teaching and area studies.

From Oct 12 to 14, the delegation visited Johannesburg and Cape Town.

They attended the closing ceremony of the Global Female Entrepreneurship Empowerment Program (GFEEP) South Africa workshop, which is launched and implemented by BFSU and guided by the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange of China's Ministry of Education.

BFSU delegation attends the GFEEP South Africa workshop. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Aimed at helping African women entrepreneurs improve business management and supporting China-Africa economic cooperation and people-to-people ties, the initiative has been incorporated into the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2025-27) and included on the list of flagship programs of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges; it has drawn keen interest from South African First Lady Tshepo Motsepe.

Speaking on behalf of BFSU at the ceremony, Jia congratulated the 61 participants who completed the training. He said BFSU would draw fully on its strengths in language, culture and international exchange to empower women through education, and keep building bridges for China-South Africa cooperation.

The University of the Western Cape, a well-known public comprehensive university in South Africa with distinctive strengths in the humanities and African languages, hosted talks between Jia and the university's Vice-Chancellor Monwabisi Ralarala. The two sides exchanged views on teacher and student exchange, doctoral training, African language and culture research and scientific collaboration, and signed a student exchange agreement.

Jia Wenjian and Monwabisi Ralarala sign a student exchange agreement. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

The delegation also visited Sinosteel South Africa and Hisense South Africa, exchanging views on the localization of Chinese enterprises in South Africa, companies' talent needs, overseas student practice, and university-industry collaboration in talent cultivation.

From Oct 15 to 17, the BFSU delegation visited the University of Zimbabwe, the Southern African Research and Documentation Center (SARDC), the China-Zimbabwe Exchange Center, the Zimbabwe Chinese Business Association and the Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe.

Jia met with Vice-Chancellor Paul Mapfumo of the University of Zimbabwe, the country's oldest and most representative public comprehensive university. The two sides held in-depth discussions on language teaching, joint research, teacher and student exchange, sharing of academic resources, development of digital teaching materials and area studies talent cultivation.

BFSU and SARDC sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

At SARDC, both sides discussed Southern African regional studies, China-Africa studies, joint research, sharing of academic resources, and the publication and dissemination of research results, and signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation.

Visits to the China-Zimbabwe Exchange Center, the Zimbabwe Chinese Business Association and the Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe produced discussions on strengthening cooperation in Zimbabwe country studies, youth exchange and student practice.