Zhang Qiyue, Chinese consul general in New York, speaks during the launch ceremony of the Beijing Foreign Studies University North America Alumni Association on May 2 at the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics at Fordham University in New York. Photo provided to China Daily.

Zhang Qiyue, Chinese consul general in New York, said that what she learned during her college years at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) has greatly benefited her as the Chinese consul general in New York.

"The debating skills I learned from my teachers in the college years proved essential in my later years as a spokesperson of the Information Department of the Foreign Ministry," she said during the launch ceremony of the BFSU North America Alumni Association on May 2 at the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics at Fordham University in New York.

Some 500 alumni representatives who had studied at BFSU and become leading figures in various sectors attended the ceremony.

"The voice and help from tens of thousands of alumni at home and abroad secured BFSU to move forward and step up to a higher level of development," said Peng Long, head of BFSU, who came from Beijing. "I hope the association could become a platform where alumni could help and inspire each other," he said.

Founded in Yan'an in 1941, BFSU was China's first institution specializing in foreign languages. Dubbed the "diplomat's cradle," the university has seen more than 400 graduates become ambassadors.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn