On December 17, the delegation led by French Consul General in Shanghai Benoît Guidée visited Fudan University.
President Jin Li extended warm welcome to Benoît Guidée and his colleagues. Jin emphasized Fudan’s long tradition in exchanges and collaborations with France and French people, mentioning the 3 visits to Fudan (in 1980, 2004 and 2010) by former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who was the first foreign state leader to visit Fudan since 1978. Over the past years, Fudan has established extensive cooperation in teaching and scientific research with many first-class French universities and research institutions in various disciplines, including linguistics, literature, history, philosophy, political science, economics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc.. Many Fudan scholars have also been awarded L’ordre des Palmes académiques by the French government for their outstanding contributions to promoting Sino-French academic exchanges.
Jin also expressed his gratitude to the Consulate General of the Republic of France in Shanghai for its support to Fudan University. He hopes that the pandemic will end as soon as possible so that students and faculties of both sides can resume face-to-face exchanges. As the president of Fudan University, he will spare no effort to promote academic exchanges between Fudan University and French universities.
Benoît Guidée said that in recent years, French universities have become increasingly internationalized, and it is easier for Chinese students to integrate into the local society when they go to France for further study. Although the number of Chinese students studying in France has decreased due to the pandemic, Chinese students are still very enthusiastic about studying in Europe including France. Fudan University has always been an important partner to French universities. As France will hold the Council of the EU presidency from January 1 to June 30, 2022, France is willing to become a bridge between China and the EU, and hopes to strengthen dialogues with China on many issues, including demographic trends, environmental protection, public health, digital economy, etc.. He believes that it is a good time to review the existing cooperation, identify areas to be further strengthened and enhanced, and get prepared for quick actions when the pandemic is over.
Deputy Consul General for Public Relations Louis Belmont, Consul for Education and University Cooperation Officer Séverine Boué, Vice President of Fudan University Chen Zhimin, representatives of the Office of Global Partnerships, and professors from various disciplines attended the meeting.
