From April 13th to 16th, the League of Tropical Universities (LTU) 2025 Summit took place at Hainan University (HNU). With the theme of “Extensive Consultation, Joint Contribution, and Shared Benefits: Towards a Shared Future of Higher Education for the Tropical Regions”, this summit included academic forums on international digital education, high-efficiency tropical agriculture, One Health, cultural exchanges, and green development. Experts and scholars worldwide were in attendance to explore the solutions to development challenges in tropical regions.
With the aim to synergize educational strengths worldwide and help tropical regions translate their resource endowments into development momentum, in November 2023, HNU launched the LTU in collaboration with 7 flagship universities and research institutions in the tropics, including the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS), Cairo University in Egypt, Universiti Malaya (UM) and Universiti Teknologi Petronas(UTP) in Malaysia, the University of São Paulo(USP) in Brazil, the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) in Indonesia, and Chulalongkorn University(CU) in Thailand. Up to now, 101 institutions from 41 countries and regions have joined the LTU, creating an international and cross-cultural cooperation network.
Luo Qingming delivers a keynote speech at the LTU 2025 Summit
Recently, a reporter from CPPCC Daily interviewed HNU president Luo Qingming, also vice-chairperson of Hainan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Reporter: Hello, President Luo! A State of the Tropics Report 2022 published by the UN shows that the tropical regions are home to 39.8% of the world’s land and 42% of the global population, while they only represent 20% of the global economic contribution. What do you think are the root causes of the development dilemma in the tropics?
Luo: With abundant natural resources, the tropics are regarded as the “green heart of the earth”. However, many tropical regions have long been stuck in poverty. Just take food security as an example, 60% of tropical countries have low grain self-sufficiency, but 109 tropical countries contribute 80% to the world’s biodiversity. This conflict reflects the deep-seated crisis of resource misallocation. Generally speaking, the tropics are locked in a vicious cycle featuring a single-product economy due to past colonialism, insufficient investment in education and sci-tech (accounting for less than 0.5% of GDP), and ecological vulnerability exacerbated by climate change.
The UN has designated June 29th as the International Day of the Tropics, and it serves as a call for global attention to the special challenges facing tropical regions. It is predicted that by 2050, more than 50% of the world’s population, including 66.7% of the children, will live in tropical regions. This trend highlights the issues concerning economic, educational, sci-tech, and social development in the tropics. Consequently, the international community bears an unshirkable responsibility and mission to strengthen international cooperation and jointly respond to these complicated and pressing challenges.
Reporter: Is the LTU initiated by Hainan University an innovative practice to break this dilemma?
Luo: Definitely. According to the report delivered at the 20th National Congress of the CPC in 2022, “we should expand global vision, hold a profound perspective of the trend of human development and progress, proactively respond to the common concerns of people around the world, and contribute to solving the common problems humanity faces”. Against the backdrop of numerous challenges in the tropics, the LTU jointly initiated by HNU and CATAS represents both an active response to global issues and a concrete action to build a better world. As the world’s first multilateral cooperation platform for universities and research institutions in tropics, the LTU has brought together 101 members from 41 countries and regions, forming an international and multi-cultural cooperation network. It aims to promote win-win cooperation and sustainable development in the tropics and build an important platform to support China’s major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and the community with a shared future for humanity.
Reporter: What achievements has the LTU made in promoting the development of tropical regions?
Luo: Since its inception, LTU members have conducted pragmatic cooperation with each other and achieved impressive progress. In terms of joint talent nurturing, HNU has built the Confucius Institute with the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Cambodia, and signed 43 cooperative agreements with 32 members, such as Universiti Malaya (UM), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), and the University of Hawaii (UH) at Manoa. HNU is currently a Chinese member of the China-Africa Consortium of Universities Exchange Mechanism and a host of the 2025-2026 Chinese Government Scholarship Silk Road Program. Besides, HNU has successfully organized several foreign-aid training programs funded by the Ministry of Commerce. In terms of joint research and societal engagement, HNU has co-constructed the “Dugong and Seagrass Meadows Research Station” with the Prince of Songkla University in Thailand, and the “Research Base of Zimbabwe, International Joint Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Environmental Pollution on Tropical Island of Hainan Province, China” with the University of Zimbabwe, and built the “Tuber Crop Production Equipment Research Center of HNU (Aid to Zimbabwe)” in Zimbabwe. Vigorous efforts have been made to solve the tough development problems in the tropics. In terms of cultural exchanges, HNU has launched several tailor-made programs for young scholars, inviting nearly 100 teachers and students from the LTU members, such as the UM in Malaysia. Through these activities, regular cultural exchanges within the tropics have been carried out.
Reporter: What is the significance of the LTU for China’s major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port?
Luo: The LTU significantly embodies the concepts of “win-win cooperation” and the “community with a shared future for mankind”. From the perspective of China, the LTU helps deepen ties with tropical regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America by strengthening cooperation in education, economy, culture, and sci-tech. Besides, the LTU demonstrates China’s responsibility and commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through cooperation in education and technological innovation to jointly explore solutions to the global challenges in climate change, ecological protection, and food security. From the perspective of Hainan, the LTU can help accelerate the internationalization of the FTP. With the favorable policies of the FTP, the LTU has attracted the participation of world-class universities and research institutions, which not only enhances the status of the FTP in education, scientific research, medical care, and economy in the tropics, but also lays the groundwork for the FTP to serve as an exchange hub for these fields. Going further, the LTU is expected to be an integral part of China’s major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Joint training of high-end professionals and interdisciplinary & cross-border research not only improve education and research capabilities of the tropics, but also strengthen academic connections and personnel exchanges between China and the tropical regions, further showcasing the outcomes and impact of China’s major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.
Reporter: In the future, how will the LTU thrive to better serve the development of tropical regions and beyond?
Luo: In the years to come, we aim to promote its high-quality development and build it into a model of global cooperation in education and scientific research and an important platform for China’s major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. First, we will further expand the LTU by admitting more universities and research institutions from the tropics, thereby building a multi-cultural and wide-ranging cooperation network and enhancing its global influence; Second, we will launch a scholarship program fund for outstanding students and scholars from the tropics to pursue higher education and scientific research in China, so as to deepen academic exchanges and international cooperation; Third, we will make more joint efforts to facilitate interdisciplinary research and knowledge transfer by holding high-level international academic conferences focusing on major topics such as education, sci-tech, medical care, environmental protection, energy, economy, climate change, and food security; Fourth, we will leverage various communication channels to promote the LTU globally, displaying the successful examples of cooperation, and highlighting its unique value and development potential; Fifth, we will improve the cooperation mechanism, institutional framework and operation regulations, and build a big-data platform for resource sharing, and thus promote the co-construction and sharing of scientific research facilities, data resources, and academic achievements.
In conclusion, the sustainable development of the tropics concerns not only the well-being of the local people but also to the global ecological balance, economic and social development, and shared future of humanity. The LTU is seeking to become an important driving force for the sustainable development of tropical regions through a host of comprehensive actions.
Translated by Fu Ya
Proofread by Kuang Xiaowen, Yang Jie
