Two Japanese major undergraduates from the School of Foreign Languages claimed top honors at the national finals of the 2025 "FLTRP · Guocai Cup" "Understanding Contemporary China" National College Students' Foreign Language Proficiency Competition, held in Beijing on December 6. Yang Qianyi and Lu Guanxiu, both from the class of 2023, won the Gold and Silver Awards respectively, showcasing exceptional language competence and outstanding cross-cultural communication skills on the national stage.
Wang Lin and Jin Wenfeng, faculty members from the Japanese Department, served as the students' instructors and accompanied them to the finals.
The competition, a prestigious national event sponsored by Beijing Foreign Studies University and organized by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP), aims to enhance college students' understanding of contemporary China and their ability to communicate Chinese stories globally. Launched in March 2025, the multilingual group of the competition spanned three stages — university-level, provincial-level, and national-level — attracting over 26,000 participants from 669 universities nationwide. The Japanese Department attached great importance to the event, with teachers providing meticulous guidance and students devoting extensive efforts to preparation amid busy academic schedules.
The department's students had already demonstrated strong performance in the provincial competitions held in September and October, securing 2 Gold Awards, 1 Silver Award, and 1 Bronze Award. Building on this success, Yang and Lu stood out from more than 1,900 provincial contestants and over 220 participants in the first round of the national Japanese group, advancing to the final showdown.
Centered on the theme "Understanding China, Connecting the World", the national finals featured 180 outstanding contestants from 85 universities competing in nine languages. The competition included challenging segments of Chinese-foreign interpretation, impromptu speeches, and Q&A sessions. Competing against 57 postgraduates and undergraduates majoring in Japanese from across the country, Yang and Lu delivered standout performances, ultimately clinching the Gold and Silver Awards.