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His Excellency Chris Hipkins Prime Minister of New Zealand Visited Peking University and Addressed Faculty and Students 02/07/2023 -- During his official visit to China from June 25 to 30, 2023, His Excellency Chris Hipkins Prime Minister of New Zealand visited Peking University with a delegation of ministers and prominent officials and addressed to representatives of Peking University faculty and students on the afternoon of 28 June. This is His Excellency Chris Hipkins’s second visit to Peking University. The first one was in 2018, when he was Minister of Education, New Zealand. His Excellency Chris Hipkins and the members of his delegation were warmly welcome by Professor Hao Ping, Chairman of Peking University Council, and Professor Gong Qihuang, President of Peking University, and representatives of the faculty members and students in Peking University Administration Hall.
From left to right in the front: Chairman of Peking University Council Professor Hao Ping, Prime Minister of New Zealand His Excellency Chris Hipkins, and President of Peking University Professor Gong Qihuang Prior to his address, Professor Hao Ping, Professor Gong Qihuang, Deputy President of Peking University Professor Wang Bo, Professor Qiao Jie, and other university leaders had a welcome meeting with His Excellency Chris Hipkins and his delegation. Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Mr. Wang Xiaolong and New Zealand Ambassador to China Mr. Grahame Morton attended this meeting. At the meeting Professor Hao Ping welcomed His Excellency Chris Hipkins and his delegation to revisit Peking University after the three years’ travel restriction of the global pandemic. He also shared his fond memories of visiting New Zealand in 2014 when President Xi Jinping payed an official visit to New Zealand. It was during President Xi Jinping’s visit that China and New Zealand established comprehensive strategic partnership, a landmark in the fifty-year history of China and New Zealand relationship. Professor Hao Ping, Professor Gong Qihuang and His Excellency Chris Hipkins also reviewed the history of China-New Zealand history of productive collaboration in education, including New Zealand Centre at Peking University since its establishment in 2007, and they all expressed shared interests in enhancing the relationship of collaboration in future for mutual benefits.
The Meeting between Professor Hao Ping, Professor Gong Qihunag and His Excellency Chris Hipkins with Colleagues form New Zealand Delegation and China The address to Peking University by His Excellency Chris Hipkins was given at Peking University Administration Hall, a grand and prestigious auditorium with a history of more than one hundred years. The title of his address is “Reunion and Development: New Patterns of Education Cooperation between New Zealand and China in the Post-epidemic Period”. His Excellency Chris Hipkins emphatically highlights the vital significance of education, including creative digital devices in education, such as AI technology which has been increasingly applied in deep learning and other fields of education, for shaping the future of New Zealand, China and other countries as well.
Peking University Administration Hall where His Excellency Chris Hipkins Addressed to the Representatives of PKU Faculty and Students Among the audience were Peking University leaders and about 300 hundred faculty members and students. His address was followed by a Q & A session, in which His Excellency Chris Hipkins responded three questions from the students. Deputy President Professor Wang Bo chaired the whole event.
President Gong Qihaung Makes a Welcome Speech. On behalf of Peking University, President Gong Qihuang extended warm welcome to New Zealand Prime Minister His Excellency Chris Hipkins and his delegation. He reviewed the history of Peking University’s engagement with New Zealand universities in terms of the academic exchanges and cooperation, such as personnel training, faculty exchanges and student exchanges, most of which are based on the New Zealand Center at Peking University. He stressed that the in-depth cooperation between the higher education communities of China and New Zealand will make greater contributions to the sustainable and healthy development of China-New Zealand relations and to building up a better future for the peoples of our two countries. In addition, President Gong Qihuang introduced that the year of 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of Peking University and as part of the PKU post-pandemic development plan, PKU makes this year “International Strategic Year”, in order to further strengthen international relationship of creative collaboration. President Gong Qihuang hopes that Prime Minister His Excellency Chris Hipkins’ visit and address will further promote the ongoing cooperation between China and New Zealand, especially in the field of higher education.
Prime Minister His Excellency Chris Hipkins Addresses to Peking University faculty and students. In his address, His Excellency Chris Hipkins emphasized that the main mission of this visit is to re-establish and expand contacts in a face-to-face way and help strengthen the economic recovery to move in the right direction. He especially stressed education as an important part of the bilateral relationship as well as a cornerstone of the close and strong relationship between New Zealand and China. By providing recently updated statistics regarding trade with China, he pointed out that over the recent years, growing reciprocity and partnership of the bilateral trade have been the foundation of the bilateral relation with China. Besides, in addition to the significant role of the educational relationship between New Zealand and China, the mutual benefit and partnership between our two countries also include extensive cooperation in the economic, cultural and people-to-people engagement. He warmly welcomed the continuously deepening cooperation in education at all levels between the two countries. His Excellency Chris Hipkins said that New Zealand government will be delighted to further support the post-pandemic resumption of exchanges and cooperation between New Zealand’s universities and their Chinese partners. This includes strengthening cooperation between existing educational institutions and establishing new partnerships. He stressed that one of the aims of New Zealand’s international education strategy is to help students prepare for a changing world, which is a common goal of New Zealand and China, and that New Zealand would continue to promote the sharing of knowledge and opportunities for the benefit of both countries and peoples. He concluded his address by quoting a Maori proverb: “What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.”
Professor Hao Ping and Professor Gong Qihuang Present Peking University Gift to His Excellency Chris Hipkins After His Address The address of His Excellency Chris Hipkins was followed by the grand launch of the Rewi Alley Professor Programme of the New Zealand Centre at Peking University. As one of the most prominent and renowned international friends of China and Chinese people in the 20th century, Rewi Alley came to China from New Zealand in 1927 and distinguished himself in China as an educator, writer, poet, translator, social activist, and internationalist over more than six decades. The chair professor programme is named after Rewi Alley in memory of him and his long-term and historic contribution to China and China-New Zealand relationship. As the inaugural Rewi Alley professor, Professor Lawrence Simmons attended the launch. Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Auckland, Professor Frank Bloomfield, also attended His Excellency Chris Hipkins’s address and the launch ceremony, along with Professor Paul Clark of the University of Auckland, one of the founding members of New Zealand Centre at Peking University. As Director of New Zealand Centre at Peking University, Professor Liu Shusen attended His Excellency Chris Hipkins’s address and the launch ceremony of Rewi Alley Professor Programme of New Zealand Centre at Peking University.
From right to left: Professor Lawrence Simmons, Ambassador Grahame Morton, Professor Hao Ping, His Excellency Chris Hipkins, Professor Gong Qihaung, Ambassador Wang Xiaolong, and Professor Liu Shusen at the launch of Rewi Alley Professor Programme In comprehensive preparation for His Excellency Chris Hipkins’ visit to Peking University, Chair of New Zealand Centre Advisory Board and Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Waikato University Professor Alister Jones visited Peking University in early June, discussing details of the proposed activities during the visit and planning how to initiate Rewi Alley Professor Programme of New Zealand Centre at Peking University. As the inaugural Rewi Alley Professor of New Zealand at Peking University, Professor Lawrence Simmons will start his commitments in the capacity in the first week of July, teaching a course entitled “Visual Communication for a Global World” in the International Summer School of Peking University. |
