On February 26, an agreement on the establishment of Fudan-European Centre for China Studies was signed between Fudan University and University of Oslo (UIO). 

President of Fudan University Xu Ningsheng and President of University of Oslo Svein Stølen addressed the signing ceremony via video links. The ceremony was co-hosted by Vice President of Fudan University Chen Zhimin and Vice President of University of Oslo Åse Gornitzka.

Xu expressed his appreciation of the efforts made by the experts and staff of the two universities. He pointed out that the agreement will open a new chapter in years of cooperation between Fudan and UIO. UIO is one of Fudan’s valued global partners and one of the founding members of the Nordic Centre at Fudan University. 

Considering the common challenges we face today and the profound consequences they may have if not solved, Xu advocated international scientific research cooperation as one of the essential solutions. Xu hopes that the establishment of the Centre will strengthen Fudan’s partnership with UIO in the fields of humanities, social sciences and medicine and expand new areas of cooperation, especially in frontier disciplines.

Stølen said the Centre is a great leap forward in the cooperation between the two universities. He hopes that the Centre will enhance knowledge sharing, foster academic cooperation and promote interdisciplinary collaborations in the fields of climate, energy, governance and medicine. Fudan-European Centre for China Studies is not only a bilateral programme between two universities, but is also open to other institutions across Norway, Northern Europe and even the whole Europe. He expects the two sides to open their partnership networks to each other and seek for more opportunities for cooperation in the future.

Other attendees at the ceremony:

Fudan University: Office of Global Partnerships; Fudan Development Institute; Department of Environmental Science and Engineering; School of Public Health; IRDR ICoE on Risk Interconnectivity and Governance on Weather/Climate Extremes Impact and Public Health

University of Oslo: Faculty of Humanities; Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages; Department of Political Science, Research, Innovation and Competence Development

After the signing ceremony, the Centre’s Steering Committee held its first meeting where experts and scholars of the two universities discussed the future development of the Centre, and reached consensus on the relevant arrangements for the Centre’s opening ceremony and first seminar.

Fudan University pioneered the mechanism of co-establishing China Studies Centres with overseas institutions. In April 2013, the Fudan-European Centre for China Studies was established at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, with the support of the Nordic Institute for Asian Studies (NIAS) and the support of the Nordic Council of Ministers, the official body for intergovernmental cooperation in the Nordic Region.

For the next step, the China Studies Centre will build a high-quality collaborative research network in the fields of liberal arts, sciences and medicine. The China Studies Centre will be supported by Fudan Development Institute in China and hosted by UIO School of Humanities.

The Centre will maintain close ties with global partners to explore and share high-quality academic resources, and foster an open research community through round-tables, lectures, forums and visiting programs.