Chinese and South Korean students attend a speech contest online. [Photo/ourjiangsu.com]

The final of the first Jiangsu Speech Contest for Chinese and South Korean College Students was held online by the Jiangsu People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries on April 22.

Fourteen Chinese and South Korean students from seven colleges – Nanjing University, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing University of the Arts, Soochow University, Xuzhou University of Technology, Yancheng Teachers University, and Communication University of China, Nanjing – participated in the final.

Six participants advanced to the national finals and Tang Huiting from Yancheng Teachers University won first place.

Launched in February, the contest was themed "Why is the 21st century the Asian century?" Participants from China and South Korea used each other's language to share their insights into the relationship between the two countries at the final.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea. More than 1,300 international students are studying in Jiangsu.

Yancheng, a city in Jiangsu, has maintained a close friendship with South Korea. It is home to about 1,000 South Korean companies and over 10,000 Koreans, and has 12 sister cities in South Korea.

The Sino-Korean (Yancheng) Industrial Park and the annual China-Korea Trade and Investment Expo held in the city have further strengthened the economic, trade and cultural ties between Yancheng and South Korea.