On February 14, 2014, Tianjin Foreign Studies University President and Josai International University Honorary Doctoral Recipient Xiu Gang gave a lecture at the basement auditorium in the 1st building of the Tokyo Kioicho Campus for the JIU Executive Program.

President Xiu is regarded as the biggest advocate of Japanese language education in China, serving as the focal point of the Japanese education world nationwide. Xiu was named president of Tianjin Foreign Studies University in 1999, and, as part of the University’s plans for expansion, successfully accomplished the formidable task of elevating their status to a multidisciplinary university in 2010. President Xiu Gang also holds multiple other important offices, such as Honorary President of the Chinese Institute of Japanese Language Studies and the Vice President of the Chinese Translators Association.
　 In 2011, Tianjin Foreign Studies University hosted the World Conference on Japanese Education in conjunction with the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Japan Foundation, and Japanese and Chinese corporations. Then, in September of that same year, President Xiu received an honorary doctoral degree from JIU in recognition of his numerous contributions and accomplishments in the field.
　 Josai first formed an academic exchange agreement with Tianjin Foreign Studies University in October 2007, and have since enjoyed an extremely active partnership with many students from Tianjin coming to study at Josai each year.

After an introduction from Chancellor Noriko Mizuta, President Xiu gave his lecture entitled, “China-Japan Relations from a Public Standpoint―Toward Intercultural Communication” that described the challenges of current China-Japan relations and, with a mutual acceptance of fundamental differences as a base, explained the importance of intercultural communication and the necessity for forming favorable relations from the perspective of an average citizen.
　 Despite the heavy snowfall, nearly 150 Josai University and JIU faculty and students were in attendance, listening to the lecture with great interest.

The lecture was followed by a reception in which many faculty and students gathered around President Xiu to discuss the construction of positive China-Japan relations and cultural exchange, among other topics.