On May 16, 2024, the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing hosted a forum marking 70 years of China’s international-student education program. This was not a neutral alumni reunion. The event demonstrates how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leverages university party committees, alumni networks, and business/media ties to project influence abroad.
Key Figures & Roles (all names included)
Huang Baoyin 黄宝印 — Party Secretary of the University’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee at UIBE (中共党委书记)
Zhao Zhongxiu 赵忠秀 — President, UIBE (校长)
Puntil Jongjijttrakoo 罗铭然 (PUNTIL JONGJITTRAKOO) — Vice Minister, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand; UIBE alumnus
Adam Dunnett 唐亚东 (ADAM DUNNETT) — Secretary-General, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China; UIBE alumnus
Dubos Alexandre Florian 杜波 (DUBOS ALEXANDRE FLORIAN) — Entrepreneur; described in the event as a China–France friendship promoter
Gagne O’Scawn Pierre Pibarod 奥斯卡 (GAGNE O’SCAWN PIERRE PIBAROD) — Editor, CGTN French Channel (state media)
Yerlan Meruyert 米卡 (YERLAN MERUYERT) — Chairman, Beijing Daiyi International Logistics Co.
Zhang Ke 张克 — Chairman, Baker Capital Group
Zhu Xiaolan 朱小兰 — Chair, Asia-Pacific Trade Committee, World Trade Centers Association
Sun Xiaoxia 孙晓霞 — Director, UIBE Party Committee Office / President’s Office (学校党委办公室/校长办公室主任 — 中共党委办公室主任)
Wang Xiaojun 王小军 — Secretary-General, UIBE Alumni Association (校友总会秘书长)
Geng Huifang 耿慧芳 — Secretary, School of International Education, UIBE (国际学院书记)
Ivan 伊万 — Foreign faculty member (host)
Huyan (Wiwatpiyawong Rungrawan) 虎岩 (MR WIWATPIYAWONG RUNGRAWAN) — Secretary-General, UIBE Thailand Alumni Chapter (境外秘书长)
Chen Xiaofei 陈晓妃 (PHRONG BOONTHARIKA) — Coordinator, Thailand Alumni Chapter (协调员)
Noé Comellas 共诺威 (NOÉ COMELLAS) — Coordinator, France Alumni Chapter (协调员)
Wahed Ahmadzai 马赫 from Afghanistan, Founder, Beijing Infinite Harbor Culture & Technology Co., Ltd (北京无限港文化科技有限公司);Secretary-General, International Alumni and Talent Network of Chaoyang District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Beijing (北京市朝阳区人社局国际校友人才联盟秘书长)
Significance: Combines private enterprise with official talent/party-aligned alumni network coordination; serves as a node linking CCP-controlled talent initiatives and international alumni.
Yerlan Meruyert 米卡，Chairman, Beijing Daiyi International Logistics Co., Ltd (北京戴伊国际物流有限责任公司董事长)，Origin: Kazakhstan
What the CCP Party Secretary Said — Explicit Political Framing
Huang Baoyin, in his capacity as Party Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee at UIBE, framed the forum with explicit CCP political language:
He described UIBE as the institution that trained the PRC’s first generation of foreign-trade specialists under CCP oversight.
He noted UIBE hosts ~2,200 international students from 162 countries, and argued these alumni are a strategic resource for China’s external engagement.
He instructed alumni to “tell China’s stories, spread China’s voice,” to support Belt and Road objectives, and to act as human bridges for the CCP’s global narrative.
In short, Huang used university authority — as head of the CCP committee inside the school — to mobilize alumni networks in service of CCP foreign-policy and influence goals.
That is not soft diplomacy. It is a direct CCP political directive embedded in university governance.
Thailand’s Vice Minister: An Example of Alumni Embedded in Foreign Government
Puntil Jongjijttrakoo (罗铭然), Vice Minister of Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce and a UIBE alumnus, used his remarks to pledge support for the Thailand Alumni Chapter and for deeper Thailand–China cooperation. His role illustrates how CCP-aligned alumni networks reach into foreign governments and bureaucracies, reinforcing Beijing’s influence channels in Southeast Asia.
Formalizing Influence: Alumni Chapter Appointments
UIBE used the forum to formalize leadership for overseas alumni chapters — appointments personally handed out by CCP Party Secretary Huang Baoyin and President Zhao Zhongxiu:
Thailand Alumni Chapter: President Puntil Jongjijttrakoo 罗铭然; Secretary-General Huyan 虎岩; Coordinator Chen Xiaofei 陈晓妃.
France Alumni Chapter: President Dubos Alexandre Florian 杜波; Coordinator Noé Comellas 共诺威.
These appointments institutionalize alumni networks that can be mobilized for coordinated cross-border influence and cooperation aligned with CCP priorities.
Adam Dunnett (唐亚东): A Strategic Node for EU Influence
Adam Dunnett (唐亚东) — Secretary-General of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and a long-time presence in China — positioned himself as a bridge between EU business networks and Chinese institutions. His remarks praised UIBE’s role, emphasized the ballast that trade and investment provide to EU–China relations, and signaled a commitment to keeping EU–China economic ties steady.
Given his career background and his role leading a major chamber in Beijing, Dunnett functions as a key influence node: an alumnus who can legitimize CCP narratives inside European business and policy circles while operating from a non-official chamber platform.
Why This Matters — The CCP’s Playbook
This forum reveals a repeatable CCP pattern:
Embed CCP committees inside universities to direct institutional messaging and alumni engagement.
Cultivate international alumni who later hold positions in foreign governments, media, and business.
Use alumni events, state media, chambers, and conferences to normalize CCP narratives abroad.
Formalize roles and appointments (alumni chapter leadership) to make influence networks durable and organized.
When a university party secretary explicitly calls on alumni to “tell China’s stories” and hands official appointment letters, this is governance meeting influence operations — not benign cultural exchange.
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