Chen Mingming, former Chinese ambassador to New Zealand and Sweden, believes the contest can be a form of practical training for Chinese youths. "China's rise inspires a lot of fear from Western superpowers, so telling China's story is becoming very important to the nation, but we still need to work further on our methods," he said at the launch ceremony.

"There are cultural divides—for example, the Chinese like to make overstatements and quote great leaders…whereas we need to remind students to adopt a personal angle preferred by foreign listeners," Chen said.

The contest will open for registration on May 10. In the first stage of the competition, entrants will submit recordings of their speeches, which will be judged according to their originality and clarity, English fluency, level of interest and emotional engagement for the listener, and ability to present an accurate image of China.

Provincial semifinals will take place via live speeches in provincial capital cities on Oct 12, followed by national-level finals in Beijing in January 2020, which are expected to be broadcast on CCTV-4 or CCTV-10, as well as streaming platforms including Tudou and Youku.

The competition has a strong educational and public service component, with no registration fee collected at any stage. A three-in-one registration, assessment, and online learning platform provided by Tencent Education will evaluate contestants' language ability and give recommendations for further training.

"China is a place made up of over a billion stories of people of all walks of life and socioeconomic situations," said Conrad. "The China Stories English Talent Competition will empower young people to tell their stories. We hope to inspire their confidence in their own unique life journeys."