On the evening of October 17, Halla Tómasdóttir, President of Iceland—accompanied by Thórir Ibsen, Ambassador of Iceland to China, and HE Rulong, Chinese Ambassador to Iceland—visited Fudan University, where she met with JIN Li, President of Fudan University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and CHEN Zhimin, Vice President of Fudan University, prior to enjoying a concert of Icelandic symphonic works with an audience of over 400.
Tómasdóttir expressed her gratitude for the warm reception and extended congratulations on the 30th anniversary of the Nordic Centre, a joint-venture between Fudan University, the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies and over 20 universities from Nordic countries. She highlighted that the Nordic countries collectively form the world's tenth-largest economy, representing a key global economic partner. She took pride in the Nordic Centre’s presence in China, stressing that curiosity, understanding, and openness in human interaction can create something truly special.
In his welcome address, Jin stated that Fudan is fully aware of its responsibility to prepare students for a fast-changing and interconnected world. The university hopes to enhance communication and collaboration with Icelandic partners, integrating the best practices from both sides for our shared future. Fudan also looks forward to expanding exchanges with Iceland’s cultural, educational, and research communities.
During her visit to the Nordic Centre, Tómasdóttir engaged with Nordic scholars and praised the Centre’s authentic Nordic-style furnishings. While in the library, she personally recommended the iconic Icelandic novel Independent People, calling it essential for understanding the Icelandic people.
Later, at the Xianghui Theatre, President Tómasdóttir and Fudan faculty and students attended a performance of Icelandic music by the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. The one-hour programme, dedicated solely to works by Icelandic composers, captivated the audience with its uniquely chilled sounds. Many students shared that the music “painted a vivid soundscape of Iceland’s vast glaciers and mountains.”
Marking 30 Years of the Nordic Centre
Tómasdóttir's handwritten message
The visit also served as a historic echo across time. In 1995, Gro Harlem Brundtland, then Prime Minister of Norway, traveled to Shanghai after attending the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing to inaugurate the Nordic Centre. Three decades later, President Tómasdóttir, likewise a champion of gender equality, visited the now well-established platform after attending the 2025 Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women in Beijing.
The University of Iceland joined the Nordic Centre as its 25th member in December 2006. Less than a year later, the then President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson visited Fudan. In July last year, the University of Iceland began hosting the Nordic Centre Secretariat. This past April, Icelandic poet Gerður Kristný held a poetry reading at Fudan, adding a poignant touch to the cultural dialogue.
Since 2008, Fudan University has selected 21 students for exchange programs in Iceland and welcomed 12 Icelandic students to its campus. Among them is Francesca Rán Rositudóttir, a PhD candidate at Fudan’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs, who joined a face-to-face meeting with President Tómasdóttir at the Icelandic Embassy in Beijing on October 14.
“Hearing the President describe Iceland-China relations as ‘stronger together’ was truly inspiring,” she recalled. She shared her years of study and experiences in China with the President who noted that her visit focused on enhancing cooperation in women’s empowerment and energy. “Over the past decades, remarkable progress has been made in our exchanges in trade, science, and technology. I hope to apply the expertise in international relations I have gained at Fudan to serve as a bridge connecting Iceland with China, and Iceland with Fudan,” said Francesca fluently, in Chinese.
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Writer: LI Yijie
Photographer: CHENG Zhao
Videographer: LI Ling
Editor: WANG Mengqi
