The University of International Business and Economics entered the latest list of key universities jointly issued by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance and National Development and Reform Commission on Sept. 21, 2017.

Now UIBE is earmarked as one of the 95 universities expected to become both—a world-class university, as well as a university with first-class disciplines.

The central authorities vowed to build up China’s topnotch universities in August 2015, a resolution from which the current list stems.

The UIBE aims to further develop its strongest fields of study — applied economics, international jurisprudence, business management and accounting — into first-class disciplines.

The three ministerial-level departments issuing the list require the chosen universities to carry out the directives given in a speech about campus ideological work, delivered in December 2016 by Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. The speech called to strengthen the Party’s leadership with Chinese characteristics through improving the quality and management of education. (Li Yang)