Beijing (People's Daily) - The National Final of the 2025 FLTRP·ETIC Cup "Understanding Contemporary China" (UCC) International Communication Contest was held in Beijing on Monday, with Yan Xin walking away as this year's champion. Yan, alongside eight other finalists, captivated the audience with compelling narratives on a wide range of topics, from educational equity, environmental protection to cultural heritage conservation. They made their voices heard, highlighting the younger generation's vision of a better world.

The nine contestants in the 2025 UCC International Communication Contest National Final (Photo provided to People's Daily)

The year 2025 witnessed a new record of participation, drawing over 726,000 contestants from more than 1,500 universities and colleges across the country. The UCC contest has established itself as a premier platform for college students to showcase their linguistic excellence and international communication capabilities.

Promoting cross-cultural exchange, the UCC contest features 11 language categories: English, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese as a second language for international learners. Five students from the Beijing Foreign Studies University took home the championship in the Russian, German, Arabic, Italian and Portuguese Contests.

The Chinese Short Video Sub-contest this year attracted international students from 90 countries. The top prize was awarded to a team from the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music for their work "When Gamelan Meets Jasmine," which beautifully portrays cultural exchanges between China and Indonesia.

The National Champions in nine of the UCC Contest's Foreign Language categories (Photo provided to People's Daily)

In the highly competitive English Short Video Sub-contest, the championship went to a team from the Communication University of Zhejiang. Their winning entry, "Bronze Rhymes, Shared Roots," tells the story of a student from Taiwan who chooses to study and live in Zhejiang discovering the local beauty and fulfilling her grandfather's dream of revisiting his hometown.

"The contestants demonstrated exceptional talent in articulating their views and the event was impeccably organized," commented a member of the judging panel. The contest also drew audiences eager to see their "international communication idol," renowned CGTN anchor and journalist Wang Guan, who was one of the two Question Masters of the National Final.

The FLTRP·ETIC Cup Understanding Contemporary China Foreign Language Contests are organized by the Beijing Foreign Studies University in collaboration with the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP).