On July 7th, the signing ceremony of strategic cooperation agreement between the National Library of China (NLC) and the Minzu University of China (MUC) was held at the NLC. Xiong Yuanming, Director of the NLC, Guo Guangsheng, President of the MUC, and Yang Muyun, Vice President, attended the ceremony. Zhang Zhiqing, Executive Deputy Director of the NLC, presided over the event. 

Xiong Yuanming said in his speech that the NLC is adjacent to the MUC, and has maintained close and friendly exchanges and cooperation with it in the inheritance and development of multi-ethnic cultures, as well as in the collection, preservation, restoration, organization, publication, research and utilization of folk language literature. In the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Secretary General Xi Jinping proposed the important task of "promoting cultural confidence and self-improvement, and creating new brilliance in socialist culture". He has repeatedly stated on major occasions that "China is a unified multi-ethnic country, and the diversity and unity of the Chinese nation is a prominent feature of China"; "we need to cultivate a strong sense of community among the Chinese nation, promote communication and integration among all ethnic groups"; "we need to promote the gradual realization of comprehensive integration of all ethnic groups in space, culture, economy, society, psychology and other aspects, and promote all ethnic groups to hold tightly together like pomegranate seeds". In order to closely follow the spirit of the Secretary General's instructions, the NLC and the MUC have reached an agreement to establish a strategic partnership for sustainable development through full communication and discussion, which is an important measure to implement the important instructions of the Secretary General, follow the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and serve the strategies of enhancing confidence and self-improvement through culture and building a strong nation with socialist culture. 

Guo Guangsheng expressed gratitude for the long-term care, support and assistance provided by the NLC to the MUC, and introduced the development process of the university and the layout of "one university with three sites". He stated that the MUC and the NLC are not only close neighbors separated by a wall, but also partners with a shared destiny. Both sides share a common historical mission and responsibility in serving national strategies such as enhancing cultural confidence and self-improvement, and serving to strengthen the sense of common community of the Chinese nation. They also have their own unique advantages. The two sides face great prospect for cooperation in the field of cultural education, especially in talent cultivation, research on the protection and inheritance of ancient books and languages, and research on the integration and development of various ethnic cultures. It is expected that both sides will better integrate their respective resources, deepen cooperation in a comprehensive manner, and promote high-quality development of various undertakings for each other.

During the event, Xiong Yuanming and Guo Guangsheng jointly signed a strategic cooperation agreement between the NLC and the MUC. According to the agreement, both parties will carry out extensive and in-depth cooperation in theoretical research and disciplinary development in various ethnic languages and cultural fields, literature survey and standardization, scientific research and academic exchange, talent cultivation, resources co-construction and sharing, design of creative cultural products and other fields. 

The signing ceremony is a good beginning for the cooperative relationship between the NLC and the MUC. In the future, both sides will fully utilize their respective resources and advantages, strengthen communication and interaction, innovate cooperation modes, and strive to achieve complementary advantages and win-win cooperation, jointly promoting the prosperous development of cultural undertakings and the construction of a world-class university.