What do a medical student from Beijing, a telecommunications major from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province and an English major from Shanghai have in common? They all love the newest activity to spread through universities all over China: English debating. And with this love, they are developing the skills to contribute more to China's education reform and in the long-term, to China's continued development.

Premier Wen Jiabao said, in September, 2009, "In the past we have put the emphasis on knowledge acquisition and teaching to the test. As a result, we have neglected to foster independent thinking and creativity."

How can universities encourage these important characteristics? English debating fits perfectly with the reforms called for in China's education system.

Internationally, there is a strong tradition of using debate clubs to develop critical think-ing, innovation and leadership. Companies such as Procter & Gamble, Andersen Consulting, Ernst & Young, Prudential, the Financial Times, NatWest, Lloyds Bank and many others all sponsor debating competitions.

These companies look at university debating as an important part of their graduate recruitment programs.

Many well-known world figures and leaders have been debaters: Benazir Bhutto, Bill Clinton, Michael Foot, William Hague, Edward Heath, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Stephen Milligan, Jeffrey Archer, Brad Pitt, John Smith Michael, Ted Turner, John Wayne, Woodrow Wilson and Oprah Winfrey to name just a few.

Debating in China is not new. Xunzi and Mencius debated philosophical and ethi-cal issues, Confucius taught by holding dialogues with his students discussing and debating moral and practical issues.

Chinese universities are also seeing the value of leadership development, the importance of critical thinking and the necessity for creativity and innovation. To foster these attributes they are encouraging the growth of English debate clubs and creating Critical Thinking courses in the curriculum.

English debating is growing rapidly in universities around China, with many holding competitions in their own areas. The largest debate competition in China is the Foreign Language Training and Research Press (the FLTRP Cup).

The first FLTRP Tournament was held in Beijing in 1997, with nine universities participating. May 15-25, 2010 sees the 14th annual tournament, with over 130 universities from across the nation participating. During the past 10 years, nearly 1,000 universities have participated in the preliminary and final competitions. It's quickly becoming one of the most important events in the English-speaking competi-tion calendar.

International judges are invited to participate in the FLTRP Cup and they offer training to Chinese students. For example, Steve Johnson, a professor of forensics from the University of Alaska attends the competition each year, acting as Chief Adjudicator and Trainer. He believes that debating "is important in creating a civil society" and that debaters develop the ability to understand all sides of a question, creating innovative solutions to many problems facing our societies today.

Universities across China hold competitions each year to find their best team to send to the competition, where they participate in nine preliminary rounds of debating, aiming to qualify for the quarterfinals, semifinals and the exciting grand final.

Winners of the tournament fly overseas to the World Universities Debating Competition and the Australs Debating Tournament, showing the world that Chinese students can be as creative, as analytical and as well-spoken as students from any other nation.

Li Juanjuan from FLTRP believes that debating is playing a critical role in the Chinese education system, teaching students critical thinking and quick response skills.

From her experience in watching debates, she believes that Chinese students concentrate very much on pronunciation and grammar and this helps them in international competitions.

Li said, "Critical thinking skills would be the first area we have to improve. After all, debate is not about whether you speak good English, but the clash of ideas."