BeiDou “Belt and Road” Special Training Course--Precise and Intelligent Positioning Training Course Series Held in Nanning, Guangxi
On January 10, the opening ceremony of the 2021 BeiDou “Belt and Road” Special Training Course - Precise and Intelligent Positioning Training Course Series was held in Nanning, Guangxi. Ai Likun, Assistant Executive Director of the Secretariat of Alliance of International Science Organizations in the Belt and Road Region (ANSO), Xiao Di, Deputy Director of Academic Exchange Center of China Satellite Navigation Office, and Wang Zhihu, Director of China-ASEAN BeiDou/GNSS (Nanning) Center, were invited to attend the event and delivered speeches.
In her online speech, Ai Likun introduced in detail the positioning and missions, strategies and action goals and joint deployment projects of ANSO, as well as ways for participants to participate in ANSO activities, and wished the course a great success. She suggested that since its establishment in 2018, ANSO had developed 9 scientific research institutions and international science and technology organizations, including Chinese Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Sciences into board member units of ANSO, and hoped that scientific communities of various countries would join hands and make joint efforts to give full play to the role of the ANSO platform and make important contributions to promoting the building of a community of common destiny for mankind.
Xiao Di expressed her welcome and gratitude to the participating units for their support. She indicated that this year marked the eighth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, the second year since the completion and opening of BDS, and the fifth year that BeiDou “Belt and Road” international training courses were held with the support of national policies. BDS, as a space infrastructure providing public services for the general public around the world, has become a vivid example of China actively promoting the building of a community of common destiny for mankind through practical actions, and is of great significance to the development of the Belt and Road Initiative. She hoped that this training course would promote the in-depth interactions and regular exchanges between Chinese and foreign satellite navigation talents, and promote the development of satellite navigation applications in countries along the Belt and Road. Ms. Xiao also expressed her hope that all the participants could apply what they have learned and make their contributions to the cause of international satellite navigation cooperation.
Wang Zhihu suggested that the development of Nanning, Guangxi--the permanent venue of China-ASEAN Expo, reflected the influence of the theme of “ASEAN” over the years. On October 17, 2019, China-ASEAN BeiDou/GNSS (Nanning) Center was officially inaugurated. As an important platform for deepening international cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in BDS, the Nanning Center plays a more prominently exemplary role in conducting the mission of “going global”. The Nanning Center will take the opportunity of this event to attract high-end intellectual resources from Chinese Academy of Sciences, give full play to Nanning's geopolitical advantages to product radiating effects on ASEAN countries, accelerate the cooperation between China and ASEAN countries, promote the implementation of BDS application projects and achieve win-win cooperation.
The guests, experts and related personnel at home and abroad present at the ceremony included Zhang Weijiao, the First-level Principal Staff Member of Foreign Exchange and Cooperation Division of Guangxi Department of Science and Technology, Yan Yifeng, Chief of Exit-Entry Administration Division of Nanning Foreign Affairs Office, Zhou Yanxian, Dean of College of International Education of Guangxi University for Nationalities, Song Zhaozhen from School of International Exchange of Guangxi International Business Vocational College, Mao Weichen, Director of International Cooperation Department of Norinco Norla Institute of Technical Physics Guangxi Branch, as well as more than 40 attendees, including international students and representatives of enterprises and public institutions from Bangladesh, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Pakistan in China.
It is reported that the training course is held under the guidance of China Satellite Navigation Office, with the joint support of ANSO, International Association of Geodesy (IAG), Bureau of International Cooperation of Chinese Academy of Sciences and International Liaison Department of Chinese Association for Science and Technology. It is jointly organized by Aerospace Information Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academic Exchange Center of China Satellite Navigation Office and “Belt and Road” International Training Center for BDS Applications, and is undertaken by China-ASEAN BeiDou/GNSS (Nanning) Center and Guangxi University for Nationalities etc. The three-day training course will be delivered both online and offline, in a mixture of live-streaming and prerecorded modes and adhere to the concept of combining theoretical courses and interactive learning. The course structure has been carefully set and the best lecturers have been specifically selected. The training course has attracted 24 foreign trainees from more than 10 countries and regions, including Bangladesh, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Pakistan, Somalia, Zambia, Chad, Ethiopia and Uzbekistan, and 48 teachers who have taken in the Chinese Academy of Sciences Science Camp for Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Guangxi to participate.
Since its launch in 2017, the BeiDou “Belt and Road” International Training Course has trained more than 1,000 trainees from more than 30 countries and regions along the Belt and Road in the past five years, provided special training on BDS-based navigation and positioning technology applications for overseas trainees and cultivated overseas talent, conducted international cooperation and exchanges in BDS technologies and industry and continued to help BDS serve the world.
Since its completion and opening one year ago, BDS has been running stably and its performance has been increasing steadily, which makes it able to continue to meet the needs of global users. It has been applied in more than half of the countries and regions in the world, including more than 30 countries along the Belt and Road and provided services to more than 100 million users. Various BDS-based solutions, such as confirmation of land rights, precision agriculture, digital construction, disaster prevention and mitigation and smart ports, have been applied in many countries in ASEAN, South Asia, Eastern Europe, West Asia, Africa and other regions, and have won the praise and support of local governments and people.
