On May 22, a lively exchange activity for Chinese and foreign students themed“National Conditions as a Mirror, Profession as a Bridge”was carried out in Changzhou College of Information Technology (CCIT). More than 50 Chinese students and Thai international students from cross-border e-commerce, modern logistics management, and fin-tech majors deepened their understanding of China’s national conditions through innovative activities such as national condition and culture decoding, cross-border e-commerce practice, and seminars on integration of enterprises with vocational schools and universities, and jointly explored new opportunities for e-commerce cooperation under the“Belt and Road”background.

Cultural Ice-breaking: Understanding National Differences through Gesture Etiquette

The activity kicked off with a“Cultural Mystery Box”challenge, serving as a vivid classroom for national conditions education for international students studying in China. Chinese students and Thai international students analyzed the cultural connotations of the“two-handed gesture of putting palms together”in both countries in groups. Thai international student Che Meicheng was surprised to find that the hand heart gesture commonly used in Chinese e-commerce live-streaming is a traditional etiquette expressing respect in Thailand. In the simulated cross-border e-commerce negotiation session, Chinese student Xu Zixiong actively adjusted the social distance based on knowledge of national conditions research. He mentioned that Thai partners are accustomed to a conversation distance of 1.2 meters, while a social distance of 0.5-1 meter is more common in Chinese business scenarios, which provides an important reference for us to design interaction rules for virtual live-streaming.

Through the comparative analysis of etiquette culture and social habits, international students in China not only deeply understood the details of business culture in China’s national conditions but also mastered practical skills in cross-cultural communication, laying a foundation for Chinese-foreign collaboration in future professional scenarios.

Professional Dialogue: Two-Way Empowerment of National Conditions Education and integration of enterprises with vocational schools and universities

The core session of the activity focused on the deep integration of“vocational education” and “national conditions awareness” and “industrial development”. CCIT invited enterprise teachers from Longdao Digital Group to carry out cross-border e-commerce round-table discussions with students, integrating national conditions elements such as China’s e-commerce industry ecosystem and digital economy development into vocational teaching.

Interpretation of National Symbols: Thai international student Han Bin analyzed the empowerment path of Chinese e-commerce platforms for traditional Southeast Asian industries by showcasing the digital transformation case of his hometown’s woodcarving workshop in combination with China’s“Digital Rural”policy;

Collision of Practical Data: Chinese student Liu Mo interpreted Chinese consumers’preferences and e-commerce supply chain characteristics through fan data of live broadcast accounts, helping Thai international students understand the unique ecosystem of China’s“live-streaming commerce”and“complete supply chain”;

Cross-Border Product Selection Seminar: Chinese students and Thai international students compared and found that Thai Shopee users prefer the“try before buy”social commerce model, while China’s Taobao Live has formed a mature“people-goods-place”integrated system. These insights based on national condition differences were real-time input into the cross-border product selection database, becoming an important basis for on-site comments by enterprise experts.

Enterprise experts pointed out that understanding the market characteristics and policy orientation in China’s national conditions is the core capability of cross-border e-commerce practitioners. This seminar not only allows international students in China to see the development achievements of China’s digital economy but also broadens the international vision of local students.

Creative Empowerment: National Culture IP Activates E-Commerce Business Opportunities

The climax of the activity focused on the theme of“national culture”and“e-commerce creativity”. Facing the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival, instructor Hu Xuefang guided students to design Dragon Boat Festival live-streaming promotion plans using traditional Chinese festivals as national conditions education carriers.

Cultural Integration Creation: Chinese students and Thai international students exchanged handwritten Chinese ancient poems and Thai song scores and created bilingual live-streaming scripts combined with the Dragon Boat Festival“Ankang (i.e.Blessings of Health and Peace)”theme;

Digital Technology Application: Team members used AI digital human technology to shoot and produce bilingual live-streaming short videos in real time, which triggered thousands of reposts on social media through the form of“Zongzi culture explanation”and“cross-border preferential promotion”;

National Conditions Communication Practice: Thai international students introduced Chinese Dragon Boat Festival customs to Southeast Asian audiences through live-streaming, while Chinese students interpreted how e-commerce platforms help traditional culture go global from the perspective of the“Digital Silk Road”.

This cross-border professional dialogue is not only an innovative practice for Chinese and Thai youth to explore e-commerce opportunities together but also a vivid example of national conditions education for international students in China. By designing a closed loop of“cultural cognition - professional practice - national conditions communication”, CCIT integrates abstract national conditions education into specific professional scenarios, cultivating technical talents with both professional skills and a global vision for the“Belt and Road”, and continuously writing a new chapter in the internationalization of vocational education. (Text by Hu Xuefang, LiYing, Photo by Li Ying, Reviewed by Wang Hongkai, Tang Kai, Shen Jun)

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