Press release: China Week: Science and Scholarship, Economics and Culture

Nr. 142/2010 - 29.06.2010

Events for students, researchers and the business community, 6–9 July, 2010

The science and scholarship, economics and culture of the world’s most densely populated country – currently the world’s third largest economic power – are the themes of a China Week to be held at the University of Göttingen. In workshops, lectures and discussions accompanied by a rich programme of cultural events taking place from 6–9 July, 2010, China will be vibrantly presented as a location for university studies, research and business activity. Among the speakers and guests will be leading representatives of universities, funding bodies and the business domain from both nations. Under the heading ‘China: Science and Scholarship, Economics and Culture – Together on the Knowledge Road’, the wide range of programme items address on the one hand students, academic staff and alumni of the university and, on the other, business enterprises in the region and the interested public.

“By means of the China Week we seek to deepen people’s knowledge of studying and researching in China, and to create incentives for further cooperation in science and scholarship, trade and industry, and culture”, explains Prof. Dr. Hiltraud Casper-Hehne, Vice-President of the University. Each day will have a specific thematic focus: the official opening of the university’s interdisciplinary Centre for Modern East Asian Studies; Nanjing – metropolis in eastern China with six million inhabitants; the universities of China; and China’s economy. The Göttingen China Week constitutes an especially noteworthy conclusion to the German-Chinese Year of Science, Scholarship and Education, 2009/2010, initiated by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research. Guests will include 130 high-ranking Chinese representatives from the scientific and economic spheres, the largest delegation to have participated in any of the German China weeks that have taken place over the past twelve months.

Speaking at the opening of the China Week on Tuesday, 6 July, from 1.30 p.m. at the Aula am Wilhelmsplatz will be the Chinese Ambassador to Germany, His Excellency Wu Hongbo. Following presentations docu-menting the thriving German-Chinese cooperation at the University of Göttingen, the University’s Centre for Modern East Asian Studies (CeMEAS) will be officially inaugurated. The Centre is the realisation of Göttin-gen’s new orientation in East Asian Studies. Representatives from science and scholarship, business and culture will then go on to discuss ‘Tendencies and perspectives of German-Chinese cooperation’.

On day two of the China Week (Wednesday, 7 July) the focus will be on the Chinese university city of Nanjing. Nanjing University is one of China’s leading five institutions of higher education and is linked with Göttingen University by a partnership that goes back more than 25 years. The city of Nanjing and Nanjing University will be presented at events in the Paulinerkirche and on the Platz der Göttinger Sieben campus. Talks on the subjects of university studies, research, and PhD work in Nanjing will be complemented by a programme of cultural events embracing traditional Chinese music, calligraphy and other forms of cultural expression. The ‘Nanjing Day’ will close with a public concert at the Altes Rathaus given by the Chinese Folk Music Orchestra of Nanjing University, and a reception held by the city of Göttingen.

The third day of the China Week will be devoted to the pursuit of university studies and research throughout China (Thursday, 8 July). Workshops will deal with German-Chinese cooperation in the geosciences, law, physics and computer sciences. Funding bodies such as the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Ger-man Research Foundation, the Federal Ministry for Education and Research and the German Academic Exchange Service will be introducing their programmes relating to China. A special workshop directed by Prof. Dr. Axel Schneider, board member designate of CeMEAS, will look at the role of modern China that emerges in the context of contemporary scholarly studies.

A further highlight rounding off the series of events will be the ‘Day of Economics and Commerce’ on Friday, 9 July, in which prominent experts will participate. Former Ambassador of China to the Federal Republic of Germany Ma Canrong will speak on the subject of ‘Chinese Economic Relations with Germany’ and the State Secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and of the Ministry for Economics, Labour and Transport of Lower Saxony will give talks on the subject of ‘Germany, Lower Saxony and China’. The Chief Financial Officer of the Volkswagen Group China and member of the board of the German Chamber of Commerce in China, the President of the German-Chinese Joint Ventures BASF-YPC and the Senior Fund Manager of the Deka Investment Bank will comment on the situation of German trade and industry in China. Following their presentations, they will discuss the ‘Situation and Perspectives for German-Chinese Economic Cooperation’ together with representatives of the business community in southern Lower Saxony, among them KWS Saat AG and the THIMM Group.
The detailed China Week programme scheduling all events and speakers is available on line at www.uni-goettingen.de/chinawoche2010

Note to the press:
Journalists are warmly invited to attend any of the events.

Contact address:
Prof. Dr. Hiltraud Casper-Hehne
Vice-President, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen
Germany
Telephone +49 (0)551 39-12184, Fax +49 (0)551 39-4520
E-mail: hiltraud.casper-hehne@zvw.uni-goettingen.de
Internet: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/110984.html