Cooperation between Shaanxi province and Csongrád county goes back over 25 years. As a result of the good relationship between the two twin counties, approximately a 20-member Chinese delegation took an official visit to the University of Szeged on 12 April 2018. The leadership of Shaanxi Province, which has a population of over 40 million people in the People’s Republic of China, including Mr. Zhuang Changxin, Minister of Publicity Department of Shaanxi Provincial Committee; Mr. Wang Jianli, Director-general of Education Department of Shaanxi Province; Mr. Liu Li, President of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine and other members of the delegation, was welcomed by Prof. Dr. Gábor Szabó, Rector of University of Szeged; Dr. Judit Fendler, Chancellor of University of Szeged and Mr. Béla Kakas, President of General Assembly of Csongrád County.

On behalf of the University of Szeged, Prof. Dr. Gábor Szabó and Dr. Judit Fendler, and on the other side, Mr. Liu Li, representing Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, signed a memorandum of understanding in the ceremony hall of the Rector’s Office at the University of Szeged. Under the terms of the current agreement, the parties expressed their intention to strengthen and expand their cooperation in various fields such as exchange and research programs. After signing the memorandum of understanding, Dr. Tibor Papp, CEO of Uni-Med Ltd., and Mr. Liu Li, President of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, also signed a joint declaration of interest thus taking its first steps towards establishing a Center for Chinese Medicine in Szeged.

The Chinese delegation also took a visit to the Confucius Institute at the University of Szeged, which is to be found in the Rector’s Office ground floor, where Mr. Richárd Mohr, Director of Confucius Institute, welcomed the guests and gave an account of the Institute’s daily operations. Both the delegates and the hosts present at the ceremony hall greeted each other with a cordial welcome after which they could listen to the informative and useful presentations about Csongrád county, Shaanxi province and about the universities operating in the regions.

Prof. Dr. Gábor Szabó highlighted in his greeting that establishing a fruitful cooperation between both institutions is of paramount importance for the University of Szeged. He had also mentioned that the Confucius Institute has promoted and taught Chinese culture and language within and outside the university for many years now.

University of Szeged and Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine signs a Memorandum of Understanding

 

Béla Kakas said that Csongrád county and the Chinese province of Shaanxi has already had a 25 year-old twin county relationship, and this new agreement can be characterized with the following words “honesty, liking, and smiling.” He reckons the cooperation between the two regions as a milestone since not only economic, but also cultural and educational co-operations are emerging.

Firstly, Mr. Zhunag Changxin expressed his deepest thanks to the University of Szeged for the acceptance of establishing a Confucius Institute, and appreciated all the efforts of the County and the University for establishing and maintaining good relations with the province. In his speech, he also said that the province has a population of well over 40 million, which served as a home to 14 dynasties in the long history of China. Shaanxi is not only an agricultural and industrial center, but also tourism plays an important role. The Minister expressed his intent on acquainting the beauties of Szeged to Chinese netizens, however, Hungarians are also welcomed in the region. A total number of 107 universities and over a thousand research centers are available. He also draw the attention to the fact that China’s economy growth has recently increased with 10 % which is considered to be typical in China. He had expressed a desire to establish a broader and deeper framework for the conduct of collaboration both in economic and educational relations. This is to be achieved through joint trainings, student and professor exchanges as well as scientific and research collaborations. The Minister of Publicity Department of Shaanxi Provincial Committee found it also delighted that the Hungarians show great interest in Chinese Medicine.

“As a result of this agreement, I hope that the number of Chinese students will increase at the University of Szeged” said Dr. Judit Fendler. The Chancellor introduced the University to the Chinese guests. Wang Jiangliu, Director-general of Education Department of Shaanxi Province, mentioned some facts about their higher education, for instance the number of foreign students reaches 11 600. He highlighted that Hungarian students are also welcomed in the middle region of China

Article: Éva Loyola