Future entrepreneurs compete in Beijing

More than 4,000 university students from around the world attended a high-profile global business model competition held in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon, aiming to share their innovative practice by showcasing entrepreneur projects.

The competition, called the 2014 Enactus World Cup, was opened by a forum organized by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Enactus, a global non-profit organization.

The forum, called "My dream, Our dream" world college student forum, invited six worldwide celebrities to share their youth dreams to encourage young talents to go further, including Li Xiaolin, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, president and CEO of Schneider Electric and Wanghao, popular ping-pong player and Olympic Games champion.

This is the first time since the program's launch in 1975 that China has hosted the final annual competition.

Li Xiaolin believes that it is important to create communication platforms for young students to exchange ideas and foster friendship.

"The Enactus World Cup is an exact platform for students from all over the world to communicate," Li said, adding that just as the association aims at making foreign friends for China, the competition also gives students opportunities to make friends from other countries.

The association is a national people's organization engaged in people-to-people diplomacy of China. Founded in 1954, the association celebrated its 60th birthday in May. Its goal is to promote mutual understanding and cooperation around the world.

"Friendship among countries originates from the friendship among its people," Li said, adding that the association has great pleasure in bringing the great international event to China with Enactus.

Students will compete on Thursday and Friday in Beijing.