http://fddi.fudan.edu.cn/index.php?c=article&a=show&aid=433

The first Oceania China Forum was held in Auckland by Fudan University and the University of Auckland on November 15, 2013. Scholars and political and business people gathered and had heated discussions concerning the subject “China in Change”. Scholars from Fudan University, YIN Xiangshuo and ZHANG Qi of Economic School, PENG Xizhe of State Innovative Institute for Public Management and Public Policy Studies and ZHOU Bing of Department of History, delivered speeches regarding issues of China’s economy, social population, cultural exchanges and integration and so forth. They have greatly demonstrated the talents of the young and middle-aged scholars of Fudan University.

Currently, driven by political mutual trust and win-win economic and trade cooperation, the China-New Zealand relations showed good momentum of development. Continuously promoting cultural exchanges and non-governmental interactions has become an important element to enhance the level of China-New Zealand relations. Making the best of the long lasting friendly cooperation with the University of Auckland, the forum as an example, Fudan University actively promoted cultural exchanges between universities in order to lay a solid foundation for further academic achievements transformation and a new international platform for expression of “China’s voice”.

The Oceania China Forum was held together by Fudan Development Institute (FDDI) and Confucius Institute of the University of Auckland. FDDI is a new-type university think tank established in recent years by Fudan University with great efforts. Its focus is to promote international exchanges and cooperation and to play a functional role in public diplomacy. The Oceania China Forum is another internationalization strategy achievement promoted by FDDI, following the Fudan-Canada China Research Center in America, Fudan-Europe China Research Center in Europe. Confucius Institute of the University of Auckland is the seventh overseas Confucius Institute Fudan University participated in construction. Its teaching quality and influence come out at the top of the Confucius Institutes worldwide.

Fudan University always spares no effort to promote the construction and development of Confucius Institutes. In recent years, based on the discipline construction of philosophy and social sciences of Fudan University, this forum functions as an effective way to push forward the constant innovation and upgrading of Confucius Institutes in becoming the important focus of Fudan University’s participating in the construction of Confucius Institutes. It is also another profound integration and “advance hand in hand” between Confucius Institutes and the humanities and social science platform of Fudan University after the Sino-Germany Leibniz forum.

This Oceania Forum opens at the time when the Third Plenary Session of 18th CPC Central Committee closed and the Shanghai FTA launched, which draws highly attention from personages of all circles of Oceania. A good role of explanation, recommendation and publicity is played by the forum. Through it, some people in business circle said that they have a more direct understanding of the future direction of the Chinese economy and they are full of confidence about the economic and trade cooperation between China and New Zealand, especially various types of contact with Shanghai. Many scholars also indicated that Oceania needs forums like this to facilitate China’s opinion-expressing and to promote mutual understanding. They hoped that forum like this be often hold, making it a new platform of cultural and people-to-people exchange between China and Oceania.

CHEN Yinzhang, the Special Advisor to President of Foreign Affairs and Office Director of Fudan Development Institute and YANG Zhigang, the Head of the Research Department of Liberal Arts etc. attended related activities. Deputy Vice Chancellor of The University of Auckland Jenny Dixon represented the two schools to extend greetings to the guests and had profound communication with forum-attendees of Fudan University after the meeting on issues like communication and cooperation between the two schools and the future development of the forum, etc.