On September 9, Mohammed Barkaoui, President of the International Education Innovation Alliance for North and Central Africa, President of the Moroccan University Presidents Association, and President of Mundiapolis University in Morocco, visited our school for discussions on deepening the collaboration in establishing the Morocco Yiwu Business School. Our school leaders Li Changzu, Ma Guang, Ye Siyuan, Fan Yao, and Sheng Xiangjun met with the guest, along with representatives from Academic Affairs Office, International Office, School of Mechatronics & IT, School of Foreign Studies, School of Entrepreneurship, and the teaching team from Morocco Yiwu Business School.

Ma Guang warmly welcomed Barkaoui and reviewed the collaboration history in jointly establishing our school's first overseas branch—Morocco Yiwu Business School. Barkaoui expressed gratitude for the warm reception and noted the honor of being the first African university president to visit our school following the Summit of the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Subsequently, relevant departments discussed and exchanged ideas with Barkaoui regarding enrollment, faculty dispatch, internships, school-enterprise cooperation, and teaching feedback for three programs: International Economics and Trade, Big Data Technology, and Cross-border E-commerce at the Morocco Yiwu Business School.

During his visit, Barkaoui took a tour of our school's on-campus and off-campus teaching and training bases, such as International Education Exchange Center, Multilingual Cross-border Livestreaming Center, Intelligent Manufacturing Innovation and Training Base, and Entrepreneurship Park.

Established in September 2023, the Morocco Yiwu Business School is our school's first overseas branch, co-founded with Mundiapolis University. The Morocco Yiwu Business School effectively integrates resources from the Yiwu Small Commodities Market and educational resources from both institutions, serving as a bridge for educational cooperation and faculty-student exchanges.

To date, our school has enrolled and trained 1,047 international students from 38 African countries, including over 100 Moroccan students, cultivating a group of African international students who are skillful and proficient in Chinese, culturally aware, and full of entrepreneurial spirits. Increasingly, African international students choose to start businesses or find employment in Yiwu after completing their studies.

( Edited by Zhang Xinchang )