Recently, relying on the China-OECD LLM Programme on Taxation (hereafter referred to as “COTP”), the Tax Law Discipline of Xiamen University Law School has won the second prize of Fujian Higher Education (for Postgraduate) Teaching Achievement Award, under the topic of “A New Training Model for High-End and Versatile Talents in Rule of Law in Taxation Supported by Industry-Education Integration”. This honor means a high-level recognition of the long-term efforts of the Tax Law Discipline in cultivating international legal talents, and also affirms a solid step forward for the COTP in serving the rule of law in foreign matters for our country.

Cultivating foreign-related legal talent is an urgent requirement for comprehensively advancing law-based governance and a key to enhancing China’s voice in global tax governance. The acquisition of this teaching achievement award reflects the academic community’s full recognition and affirmation of the innovative path of “industry-education integration.” The COTP on which this teaching achievement is based, with the joint efforts of Xiamen University (XMU), the State Taxation Administration of China (STA), the Ministry of Finance of China (MOF), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has pioneered a new approach for Chinese higher education institutions to jointly carry out academic degree education and high-level professional talent training with global international organizations and national departments.

The Programme has established a "six-in-one" internationalized tax law talent training system: co-education of diverse student sources, full-English professional teaching, global faculty empowerment, in-depth interdisciplinary research, practical teaching and training, and international organization internship empowerment. In terms of teaching resources, the Programme brings together renowned scholars from home and abroad, tax law practitioners, and tax officials from various countries, to form a globally integrated and deeply industry-academia-coordinated faculty team; it breaks down the barriers between law, finance, and business administration disciplines, and offers cross-disciplinary characteristic courses, along with diversified classes such as cross-border tax cases simulation. At the same time, the Programme regularly recommends students to intern in international organisations like OECD and UN, and guides international students in China to deeply understand China's modern tax law system.

As of now, the COTP has recruited a total of 5 batches of both Chinese and foreign students, amounting to 151 students. Three batches of students have successfully graduated from the Programme. After graduation, international students returned to home and have made contributions to the capacity building of taxation in their own countries, through their association with Xiamen University. The employment destinations of the domestic graduates cover four major fields: taxation administration and government agencies, tax-related professional services, multinational enterprises, and judiciary. The professional fit and job level are both at a relatively high level, serving to the rule of law in China with the contribution of Xiamen University. At the same time, the related teaching and practical investigation activities of the COTP attracted extensive attention of the media, including important media such as People’s Daily Online and China Daily Online English Edition, as well as the attention of government agencies and professional institutions, such as the English website of the State Taxation Administration, the “Belt and Road Tax Administration Cooperation Mechanism Network”, and China Taxation News.

Looking to the future, the COTP will take this award as a new starting point to further deepen the integration of industry and education for education and training, innovate the concept of talent cultivation, integrate domestic and international teaching and research resources, fully leverage the initiative and creativity of teachers and students, and strive to explore new approaches to international tax law education. It will cultivate more high-end, comprehensive tax law talent with global perspectives and profound professional capabilities to the Chinese and global tax governance.

(Source: School of Law, October 13, 2026; translated by Dai Yanyan)