Students in Dingnan County of east China's Jiangxi Province have be come physically and mentally stronger as the country continues to deepen football reform through youth cultivation.
The miracle is the result of a comprehensive football reform and development plan, unveiled by the relevant central government agencies in 2015, in an effort to boost the development of football in the country.
"The plan has really guided our reform. We started to vigorously promote and popularize campus football to comprehensively improve the physical health of primary and secondary school students in our county," said Ye Shengning, head of the football integrated development service center of the county.
The reform has proven to be fruitful as many students' mental and physical wellbeing have been boosted, with Chen Yuyuan, a student from the No.1 Primary School in Dingnan County, becoming a good example.
"I was physically weak in the past. I was always sick and got fevers," said Chen.
Chen is now so good at football that just a month ago, her football team got qualified for the 2024 Gothia Cup, the world's largest youth football tournament, which is expected to be held in Sweden this month.
It's not just Chen who has benefited a lot from playing football. Many other students said that playing football makes them healthier, braver and stronger.
Now, all schools in the county feature football training programs amid its continuous efforts to develop the sport on campus.
Results of the 2023 annual student health check-ups suggest that 61.5 percent of primary and secondary school students in the county are in great or good health, up 20.39 percentage points from 2017.
"We saw an apparent drop in the number of overweight and myopic children. Students also get more optimistic. Basically, students have got healthier both physically and mentally. I think these two are important indicators for assessing primary and secondary students in the new era," Ye said.
However, the reform is not without its ups and downs. The county, located in mountainous area, lacks football pitches and professional football coaches.
Therefore, the local authorities started building and renovating standard football pitches and hiring professional coaches for schools in 2017.
When many parents spoke against physical training and thought that academic performance was the only thing that matters, the authorities introduced a new model to help students strike a balance between study and exercise, dispelling the concern of many parents.
Going forward, Dingnan aims to build itself into a football city by tapping its software and hardware facilities and deepening institutional reform in football, and develop a new model by promoting youth and mass participation in football and hosting football matches.
Football reform boosts physical, mental wellbeing of students in Jiangxi
China is willing to maintain exchanges and cooperation with other countries around the world, including the United States, on global governance of artificial intelligence (AI), China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dai Bing said on Thursday.
The 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday unanimously adopted the resolution on strengthening international cooperation in the capacity building of artificial intelligence (AI). It was proposed by China and co-sponsored by over 140 countries, including the United States.
Both China and the United States are leading countries in the field of artificial intelligence which has become an important area of cooperation between the two countries, Dai said at a press conference held on the sidelines of the 2024 World AI Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance which opened in Shanghai on Thursday.
"During the consultations in the past period, both our delegations showed an open, cooperative and constructive attitude. China appreciates the United States' active participation in the process, and finally supported and co-signed the China-proposed draft resolution. Both China and the U.S. recognize that there is great potential for cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence," Dai said.
"At the same time, both sides have common concerns about responding to global challenges in AI. China is willing to continue to maintain exchanges and cooperation with (other countries in the world including) the U.S. to jointly promote the follow-up implementation of the General Assembly resolution," he said.
The resolution proposed by China actively reflects the common wishes and demands of member states, especially developing countries, Dai said, adding that the resolution is of milestone significance to the global governance of artificial intelligence, especially in promoting capacity building.
Dai said he personally participated in the consultations on this resolution throughout the whole process and fully felt the support and trust of the member countries.
"This resolution has 30 paragraphs, including 15 action clauses, and the content is very specific and pragmatic. Many developing countries affectionately call this resolution the 'Global South' resolution. Recently the U.N. agenda is particularly busy. Under such a circumstance, the consultations hosted by the Chinese side could only be squeezed in, but we had a full house every time, with nearly 100 experts from various countries participating in each meeting," Dai said.
"It shows that all countries attach great importance to the topic, and it also proves that China submitting the draft resolution is a right thing which is also expected by the member states. The adoption of the resolution by the U.N. General Assembly fully demonstrates that China's ideas and solutions in the field of artificial intelligence are increasingly becoming an international consensus," said the Chinese envoy.
China willing to cooperate with all countries including U.S. in AI governance: Chinese envoy
