Xi Replies to Sichuan University, Stressing West Talent

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a reply letter to the faculty, students, and alumni of Sichuan University, congratulating the institution on its 130th anniversary and calling on it to harness its distinctive academic profile to serve national strategic goals, according to state media.

The letter, dated September 28, 2026, was publicly reported by Xinhua News Agency on September 29. In it, Xi praised the university’s traditions and set out a three-part charge for its next chapter: carry forward its “red bloodline,” exploit its unusual combination of humanities, science, engineering, and medicine, and contribute to building what Beijing calls a strong education, science and technology, and talent nation.

A Letter of Encouragement on a Milestone Anniversary

Xi’s reply responds to a letter from Sichuan University’s faculty and students, who had written to report on the school’s development history and educational achievements and to express their determination to “take root in western China” and devote themselves to education and national service.

“On the occasion of the 130th anniversary of Sichuan University’s founding, I extend congratulations to all faculty and staff, students, and alumni,” Xi wrote, according to the full text of the letter.

Xi singled out three qualities he described as the institution’s “fine traditions”: “bearing the nation in mind, taking root in the West, and promoting education and cultivating talent.”

“At this new starting point, I hope you will carry forward the red bloodline, give full play to your advantage in the cross-disciplinary integration of humanities, science, engineering, and medicine, strive to be pioneers and exemplars in serving the national strategy of the new era, and make positive contributions to building a strong education nation, a strong science and technology nation, and a strong talent nation,” he continued.

A University With an Unusually Broad Footprint

Sichuan University, an Education Ministry-affiliated national key university, traces its origins to the Sichuan Chinese-Western School, founded in 1896 by imperial decree at the request of Qing-era Sichuan Governor Lu Chuanlin. According to the university’s official profile, it was the earliest institution of higher education established in southwestern China.

The modern university took shape through two mergers of three national key institutions — the original Sichuan University, Chengdu University of Science and Technology, and West China Medical University. It now spans four campuses in Wangjiang, Huaxi, Jiang’an, and Meishan, covering some 8,050 mu (roughly 1,340 acres), and enrolls about 38,000 full-time undergraduates and more than 33,000 graduate students, supported by over 9,300 faculty and staff and 12 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.

That breadth is central to Xi’s message. Unlike China’s specialized science and engineering institutions, Sichuan University is one of the few comprehensive universities to pair strong liberal arts and basic sciences with engineering and a renowned medical school at West China. Xi’s reference to the “cross-disciplinary integration of humanities, science, engineering, and medicine” points directly at that rare combination.

The university’s research standing has also risen sharply. Its Chemistry discipline has entered the global top 0.1% by the ESI measure, the institution ranked 10th among global universities in the Nature Index, and it placed 87th worldwide in the 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities. Since 2018, it has led 11 national science and technology awards, including a first-class National Science and Technology Progress Award.

Anchoring the Western Development Strategy

Read in context, the letter’s emphasis on “taking root in the West” reflects a broader policy priority. Sichuan University is a flagship institution in China’s Western Development strategy, and Xi’s phrasing aligns with sustained national efforts to strengthen higher education in western China and to retain talent there rather than seeing it migrate to coastal hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

The reference to the university’s “red bloodline” invokes its revolutionary heritage. Sichuan University’s alumni include the martyr Jiang Zhuyun, known as “Sister Jiang,” as well as founding-era figures such as Zhu De and Yang Shangkun. The phrase threads the institution into the Communist Party’s historical narrative even as it looks toward future science and technology ambitions.

Part of a Pattern on 130th Anniversaries

The Sichuan University letter is not an isolated gesture. It follows a consistent series of Xi reply letters to universities marking their 130th anniversaries during 2025 and 2026.

In September 2025, Xi wrote to Tianjin University on its 130th anniversary, urging it to “focus on major national strategic needs, deepen teaching and research reform, strengthen basic research and technological breakthroughs, and improve the quality of talent cultivation.” The full text of that letter struck a similar chord.

In April 2026, Xi replied to a joint letter from four Jiaotong universities — Shanghai Jiao Tong, Xi’an Jiao Tong, Southwest Jiaotong, and Beijing Jiao Tong — all also marking their 130th anniversaries. Across these letters, the recurring policy framing centers on a small set of themes: building a strong education, technology, and talent nation; cultivating talent domestically; pursuing independent scientific and technological innovation; and deepening the integration of industry, academia, and research.

The pattern suggests a deliberate effort to tie milestone moments in Chinese higher education to the country’s self-reliance agenda, particularly as competition with the United States over advanced technology intensifies.

Analysis: Symbols and Signals

Reply letters of this kind function in China’s political system as both recognition and instruction. They elevate the recipient institution, but they also transmit priorities that universities and local governments are expected to absorb. By choosing Sichuan University — a comprehensive, western-based institution rather than a coastal science powerhouse — Xi reinforces two messages at once: that China’s educational strength must spread beyond its wealthiest regions, and that its universities should be organized around national strategic needs rather than purely academic ones.

The emphasis on the humanities alongside science and engineering is also notable. While much of the international discussion of China’s higher-education push centers on science and technology, Xi’s framing retains a place for liberal arts and medicine — a reminder that the comprehensive-university model remains a declared ideal in official policy.

What to Watch Next

Attention will now turn to how Sichuan University and Sichuan province translate the letter into concrete initiatives — whether through new research platforms, talent programs, or partnerships aligned with the Western Development strategy. The letter also raises an open question about how such symbolic guidance translates into funding and reform on the ground, and whether other western universities will receive comparable attention.

For now, the reply underscores Beijing’s continued focus on higher education as an instrument of national strategy — and on the country’s western institutions as increasingly central to that ambition.