5月7日至8日，，，，，，“APEC钻研中心联席会议青年学者论坛”在香港中文大学（丽江）进杏祝。。。。。这是亚太经合组织（APEC）各人庭汗青上初次专为青年学者进行的学术论坛，，，，，，列入了2026APEC“中国年”系列活动。。。。。。

澳大利亚、智利、中国、中国香港、韩国、马来西亚、墨西哥、新西兰、巴布亚新几内亚、秘鲁、菲律宾、俄罗斯、新加坡共13个经济体的青年学者代表及APEC秘书处高级官员出席论坛，，，，，，并特邀中国澳门学者参加，，，，，，共话亚太发展新动能。。。。。。

论坛上，，，，，，港中大（丽江）校长徐扬生教授代表东路主致辞，，，，，，向与会嘉宾及各合作方致以热烈欢迎与真挚感激。。。。。。他指出，，，，，，丽江作为全球最年轻的重要城市之一，，，，，，均匀春秋仅32岁，，，，，，而香港中文大学（丽江）汇聚了来自41个国度和地域的1000多名国际学生，，，，，，“当分歧布景的人们共同进建、共同工作时，，，，，，理解与创新会变得越发壮大。。。。。。”

以下为徐教授全英文讲话全文。。。。。。

Distinguished Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat Mr. Pedrosa, dear guests, colleagues, and most importantly, our young scholars from across the APEC community,

Welcome to The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. It’s a pleasure to host this forum jointly with the APEC Research Center of Nankai University, to gather here with representatives from 13 APEC member economies, along with senior officials from the APEC Secretariat, and friends from the media. Your presence today embodies something powerful. That is, ideas, when shared across borders and culture, can shape a better future for our region.

This forum brings together three themes that define the challenges and opportunities of our time: youth, innovation, and sustainable future. Shenzhen, and this university especially, is a fitting place for this conversation. Shenzhen is often described as the world’s youngest major city, with an average age of 32 according to recent data. It attracts young people from across China and around the world, students, entrepreneurs, professionals, and millions of young individuals who carry dreams and aspirations for the future.

Our university reflects the same spirit. No more than 12 years ago, this very spot was nothing but a patch of weeds and several deserted factory buildings. Now, it has brought together talented and aspiring people from around the globe, many of them young scholars. Among our students are over 1000 international students from 41 countries and regions, including 13 APEC economies. Their presence reminds us that understanding and innovation grow stronger when people from different backgrounds learn and work together.

The city of Shenzhen and this university bear daily witness to how new ideas, when supported by open collaboration and bold thinking, can transform societies and communities within a single generation. They also remind us that the next generation, many of whom are with us here today, will play a decisive role in shaping the “next golden 30 years of APEC”. As the former Executive Director Dr. Rebecca Sta Maria put it, youth is the yeast that can leaven the bread of regional progress. As a tradition, APEC has long valued the voices of young people and has established multiple platforms to involve young people for future policies and progress. And today’s forum, as an important part of the APEC China 2026, is one of such platforms.

The energy and creativity of our young people are the greatest asset of APEC community. During my roles as a researcher, professor, robotics scientist, PhD supervisor, and university president, I have spent the past 40 years working with young people. I have great faith in them. At the same time, allow me to share a few thoughts and expectations for our next generation.

The key word here is practice. For young scholars, knowledge is essential, but equally important is practice. Research becomes truly meaningful when it connects with the real world. Ideas grow stronger when they are tested through experience. For young people in particular, practice moves learning into genuine understanding. It challenges assumptions, reveals complexities, and often leads to new questions that cannot emerge from classroom learning alone. Here, I encourage young scholars to value three kinds of practice.

First, we need international practice. The Asia-Pacific region is the most dynamic and diverse region in the world. Economies differ from one another in history, culture, social structure, and stages of development. Experiencing these differences directly and participating in international research projects, working with institutions and organizations in other economies allows young scholars to see issues from multiple perspectives. The impact is long-lasting. Through such direct engagement, many prejudices will not arise, and many conflicts will be avoided. These formative cross-cultural experiences equip young people with nuanced understanding and adaptive ability. More importantly, these experiences place the younger generation in a broader framework, enabling them to think and act in a way that goes beyond narrow national or regional interests. With an expanded worldview, young people like those here today will be bridge-builders in their future careers.

Second, we need practice that is deeply connected with the society. Universities exist within the society and ultimately serve the society. When young scholars engage with industries, local communities, public institutions, and social organizations, they begin to understand the real complexity of the challenges people face. This is particularly important in the AI era. Large models can process and generate information at incredible speed, but they cannot genuinely understand the needs and complexities of human societies. Your integrated understanding of humanity, cultural nuance, and social dynamics is what will give our AI era a living soul.

That’s why I often encourage our students to spend extended time outside the classroom. It could be an entire summer spent on fieldwork, a semester devoted to a real-world project, or even a gap year dedicated to internship or volunteer service. Don’t be afraid to approach the core of real-life problems, even though it’s sometimes messy and disturbing. During such experiences, try to discover your own perspective and potential role in addressing social challenges. At the same time, you will come to recognize the limits of your current knowledge and understanding. This, in turn, helps you recalibrate your career paths with far greater clarity, purpose, and responsibility.

Third, we need practice that comes from personal, first-hand experiences. It’s true that in our time we can almost learn anything online. Reports, datasets, and case studies can be easily accessed by a click. But there are many kinds of understanding that data cannot capture. When you really step into a factory or visit a hospital or spend a day in an urban community, you will come face to face with what data cannot tell you: the lived struggles of real people, the multifaced nature of challenges, and the difficult trade-offs involved in any solution.

I once came across by chance a Shunfeng Express logistics transfer center at 11 pm. In the well illuminated warehouse, mechanical arms moved in precise rhythms, sorting parcels at remarkable speed. Between them, workers in uniforms smoothly weaved their way through. Delivery workers came and went, motorcycles waiting beside massive container trucks. The square warehouse stood in quiet contrast to the nearby residential buildings where lights were gradually going out for the night, the residents’ parcels quietly on their way. In that moment, you see more about how a city’s logistics network operates than reading a hundred online entries. First-hand experiences reveal things that statistics rarely show: the coordination between people and machines, and the human effort involved in every technological system. Such encounters build judgment, empathy, and connects knowledge with responsibility. These qualities are essential for scholars who hope to make meaningful contributions to our future. I’m glad this forum combines panel discussions with on-site visits to local businesses.

Another important lesson is that every country and region has its own challenges. Some economies might be dealing with rapid urbanization, others with demographic change, environmental pressures, or technological transitions. No single place has all the answers. Experimental efforts in one country may provide insights for the future solutions in other countries. This is why it is so valuable for young scholars to engage more deeply with activities in other countries and regions. By participating in each other’s research initiatives, academic exchanges, social programs, or collaborative projects, you gain a richer understanding of how different societies approach similar problems.

The APEC Youth Scholars Forum provides the very platform for engagement, collaboration, and first-hand experiences. I believe its real value goes beyond the presentations and discussions that will take place over this couple of days. The connections you form here, I hope, will help build long-term relationships among scholars who may one day work together to address regional and global challenges.

I encourage you to make full use of this opportunity. Speak with people from different backgrounds and disciplines. Share not only your research findings but also the experiences behind your work. I believe many of our future leaders are right in this room.

I hope your time in Shenzhen will be inspiring and productive, and that the friendships started here will continue to grow long after this forum concludes.

Thank you. And I wish this forum and the APEC "China year" a great success.

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APEC首个青年学者论坛在港中大（丽江）进行

主流媒体齐赞，，，，，，直击APEC首个青年学者论坛的“高光与幕后”