On the morning of May 9, 2023, John McKinnon, Chair of New Zealand China Council (NZCC) and former New Zealand Ambassador to China, Professor Neil Quigley, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato, Ardi Barnard, New Zealand Consul-General to Shanghai and their delegation visited Shanghai International Studies University (SISU). President Li Yansong received the guests at Museum of World Languages on Songjiang Campus. The two sides exchanged views on topics of deepening and expanding cooperation in education and scientific research between SISU and New Zealand higher education institutions.
Li said that SISU has successfully developed its academic strength in six major fields of arts, education, economics, management, law and engineering with foreign language and literature and area studies as its pillar, and it is committed to building an internationally recognized academic institution distinctive for modern languages and global and area studies. SISU has established a solid foundation for cooperation with New Zealand universities such as Waikato University, Auckland University and Victoria University of Wellington, and plans to reach a tri-partite agreement with Massey University and Yunnan Normal University. Li conveyed his anticipation on NZCC’s support for future exchanges and cooperation with SISU.
John McKinnon hoped that this visit could advance the cooperation between New Zealand and China, especially in the field of education. He expressed his willingness to promote exchanges and cooperation between SISU and New Zealand universities and research institutions.
Subsequently, the delegation had a lively discussion with the faculty and student representatives on such topics as characteristics of New Zealand’s education, multilingual learning, cross-cultural adaptation, choice of major and career planning, and the role of new media platforms in cultural communication.
NZCC is a New Zealand-led, New Zealand-funded organization acting as a cross-sector peak body for the New Zealand-China relationship. It aims at deepening mutual understanding and cooperation between New Zealand and China, and promoting long-term and sustainable relations between the two countries.
