China Center History

In 1979, the China Center was established to manage the University of Minnesota's exchanges with the People's Republic of China. For more than two decades, the China Center has reflected the firm and long-standing commitment of the University to international research, teaching, and outreach.

The first three Chinese students entered the University in 1914, and since then there have been more than 8,000 Chinese alumni who have studied or worked at the University. After the normalization of U.S.-China relations, the University again began to host visiting scholars and students from the PRC, resuming exchanges interrupted for nearly 30 years. The China Center has played a crucial role in facilitating such exchange. Today there are more than 1,200 visiting Chinese scholars and students at the University, estimated to be the largest population on an American campus.

One of the China Center's top priorities is to encourage more U of M students to study in mainland China. The China Center offers a full-academic year exchange program, the Chinese Universities Exchange Program (CUEP), which offers students the opportunity to study at three top-ten universities in mainland China. Through a generous endowment of the Jennie and Fred Hsiao Scholarship Fund and a scholarship gift from the Chinese Ministry of Education, the China Center offers additional scholarship opportunities to U of M students.

The Mingda Institute for Leadership Training, established by the China Center in 2001, provides advanced training for Chinese junior- and senior-level executives from business and public sectors in China.

The China Center also organizes and sponsors seminars and programs on Chinese culture, politics, trade, and development to foster a greater understanding of China.

Timeline

  • 1851 - University of Minnesota founded
  • First Chinese students enroll in the University1914 - First Chinese Students enroll in the University
  • 1974 - First Chinese delegation visits the University from Henan Agricultural College
  • 1979 - "China Desk" (precursor to China Center) is formed in the Office of International Programs
  • 1979 - First Chinese scholar, Zhai Qihui, arrives at the University
  • 1979 - Board of Regents Chair Wenda Moore leads the first University delegation to China
  • 1980 - University conducts a Summer English Institute in Science and Technology in cooperation with Nankai and Tianjin universities
  • 1980 - Professor John Turner leads second University delegation to China
  • 1980 - Mei-Ling Hsu is named the first director of the China Center
  • 1980 - University establishes the Summer Intensive Chinese Language Institute with Nankai University
  • 1981 - President C. Peter Magrath leads first presidential delegation to China
  • 1982 - China Center initiates annual Understanding China workshop for University community
  • 1983 - University community includes 60 graduate students and 64 visiting scholars from China
  • 1983 - China Center partners with local businesses to present annual workshop series, "Doing Business In China"
  • 1983 - Mei-Ling Hsu coordinates a Minnesota trade delegation to China, led by Speaker of the House Harry Sieben, Jr.
  • 1985 - M. Patricia Needle is named the second director of the China Center
  • M. Patricia Needle1986 - China Center hosts a performance of Thunderstorm by Cao Yu, a play performed in English by students from Nankai University
  • 1987 - University community includes 473 students and scholars from China (largest at a university campus in the U.S.)
  • 1987 - First University alumni connection established in China
  • 1987 - China Center formalizes and begins an academic-year reciprocal exchange program with Fudan, Peking, and Nankai universities
  • 1987 - China Center co-sponsors the return engagement of the Nankai student theater troupe to perform Rickshaw Boy, adapted from Lao She’s novel
  • 1987 - State Education Commission of the People’s Republic of China donates 1,067 books to the University’s East Asian library
  • 1988 - China Center and the University Art Museum co-sponsor an exhibit and symposium, The Jews of Kaifeng: Chinese Jews on the Banks of the Yellow River
  • 1989 - University community includes 663 students from mainland China, 308 from Taiwan, and 132 from Hong Kong
  • 1989 - China Center receives a certificate of commendation from Governor Rudy Perpich on the First Asian-Pacific Minnesotans Day at the Capitol, in recognition of the Center’s outstanding contribution to the Chinese community
  • 1989 - Friendship Association of Students and Scholars responds to the Tiananmen Square tragedy by forming the Subcommittee for Chinese Democracy
  • 1990 - University community includes 711 students from mainland China, 304 from Taiwan, and 117 from Hong Kong
  • 1991 - China Center sponsors first Midsummer China Festival celebrating Chinese arts and culture
  • 1991 - China Center and the School of Music host internationally acclaimed composer Bright Sheng; presentations explore the folk music of Qingha Province and Mr. Sheng’s recent works
  • Exhibition1991 - University Art Museum hosts “Laughter in the Palace of the Dragon: Chinese Fisherfolk Painting exhibition
  • 1992 - China Center publishes East Gate of Kaifeng: a Jewish World Inside China
  • 1992 - China Center sponsors Second Annual Midsummer China Festival at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, with 5,000 people in attendance
  • 1992 - Well-known Chinese dissident Fang Lizhi lectures on science and politics in China
  • China Festival1993 - China Center sponsors Third Annual Midsummer China Festival at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, with 3,000 people in attendance
  • 1994 - Twenty-four students from Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University participate in a Summer English Language and Culture Short Course held in Minnesota
  • 1994 - David Y.H. Pui is named the third director of the China Center
  • 1995 - President Nils Hasselmo leads the second presidential delegation to China and Taiwan
  • 1995 - China Center publishes Building Bridges: University of Minnesota Alumni in China, a chronicle of 230 Chinese alumni spanning the years 1925 to 1995
  • 1995 - First UMAA alumni chapter in China formalized in Beijing
  • 1996 - President Nils Hasselmo leads third presidential delegation to China and Taiwan
  • 1996 - Dr. Y.S. Tsiang receives honorary doctor of laws degree
  • 1996 - Dr. Tang Peisong receives honorary doctor of science degree
  • 1997 - Dr. Wu Jin, Taiwan’s minister of education, delivers a speech, Educational Reform and Globalization in the Republic of China
  • 1997 - China Center and the U.S.-China People’s Friendship Association-Minnesota Chapter host a lecture, The Hong Kong Transition: The U.S. Exporter’s Perspective, by Nelson Dong from Dorsey & Whitney, LLP, with special guest Consul General Huang Dongbi
  • 1997 - Six Chinese delegates from universities and government agencies in mainland China and Taiwan attend President Mark Yudof’s inauguration
  • 1998 - China Center publishes A Resource Directory of University of Minnesota Faculty Linkages with China, a directory of the extensive collaboration between University faculty and their colleagues at Chinese academic institutions
  • 1998 - President Mark Yudof joins Governor Arne Carlson on a Minnesota trade mission to China
  • 1998 - Dr. Wei Yu, vice minister of Chinese Ministry of Education, delivers the lecture, To Build a Lifelong Learning System Through Modern Distance Education
  • 1998 - Dr. Wei Yu, vice minister of the Chinese Ministry of Education, is awardeFred Hasiaod honorary doctor of laws degree (pictured here with David Pui)
  • 1999 - Ten major agricultural universities, led by Vice Minister Zhou Yuanqing from the Ministry of Agriculture, visit the University to learn more about the land-grant mission of a U.S. university in teaching, research, and extension
  • 1999 - Dr. Tu Guangchi receives an honorary doctor of science degree to recognize his lifelong contributions to China and the field of geochemistry
  • 2000 - Dr. Hong Yang is named the fourth director of the China Center
  • 2000 - President Mark Yudof leads the fourth presidential delegation to China
  • 2000 - China Center hosts a program on China’s western development initiatives with speakers Professor Qi Xiyu, People’s University in Beijing; Mr. John Holden, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations; and Regents Professor Leonid Hurwicz, Department of Economics
  • 2001 - China Center establishes Mingda Institute for Leadership Training; first trainees arrive from the Administrative Department of Zhejiang Province
  • 2001 - Professor Lou Cheng-Hou is awarded an honorary doctor of science degree; nominated by University alumnus and Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug
  • 2001 - Jennie and Fred Hsiao establish the Jennie and Fred Hsiao Scholarship Fund at the China Center to provide scholarships to University students to study or conduct research in China; the endowment is the first of its kind at the China Center
  • 2002 - Professor Jiang Zhenghua, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, visits the University at the invitation of the China Center and the Minnesota Population Center
  • 2002 - A training group of 17 executives from Beijing Municipality start a four-month training program at the Mingda Institute for Leadership Training
  • 2002 - China Center sponsors China Day for more than 300 high school students from five local high schools to encourage them to continue language study
  • Hong Yang2002 - China Center Director Hong Yang travels as a VIP delegate on Governor Jesse Ventura’s trade mission to China
  • 2002 - Jacqueline Ann Willis, Hong Kong Commissioner to the U.S., visits the University and gives a lecture Hong Kong and the United States: Indispensable Partners in the Global Economy
  • 2002 - President Mark Yudof delivers a keynote address, Universities and Economic Development at the Chinese-Foreign University Presidents Forum in Beijing
  • 2002 - Executive Vice President and Provost Christine Maziar leads a delegation to China and co-chairs the Second China International Cooperation Education Conference
  • 2003 - China Center hosts second annual China Day for nearly 400 students from local high schools
  • 2003 - Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago donates 388 titles in 684 volumes of Chinese language materials to the University’s East Asian Library
  • 2003 - China Center’s Mingda Institute and several University study abroad programs are suspended due to the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong and mainland China
  • 2003 - Three Chinese universities send delegates to brave the Minnesota winter and attend President Robert Bruininks’s inauguration
  • 2003 - China Center hosts Summer in Minnesota picnic for Chinese students and scholars and their families who stayed in the U.S. over summer break due to the SARS situation in China
  • Mr. Wang Guangfa2003 - Mr. Wang Guangfa, chairman of the board of the Beijing Fazheng Group, establishes the Fazheng Guangfa Educational Fund at the China Center to develop educational initiatives between the University and institutions in China
  • April 2003 - Professor Jiang Zhenghua vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress visits the University for the second time and while on campus he delivered a lecture on the changing demographics of China
  • April 2003 - Students from Breck, Minneapolis South, Minnetonka, St. Paul Central, and Highland Park high schools attend the annual China Day program at the University to hear Minnesota Public Radio Host Mindy Ratner talk about her experiences living in China
  • August 2003 - Wu Bin, a Wushu Master and head coach of the Chinese National Wushu (Martial Arts) Team, gives a short program to an interested crowd; he plans the trip to excite young Americans about developing a Wushu team for the 2008 Olympics
  • September 2003 - The China Center and Skyarc International Media collaborate in organizing a program for broadcast on the Meet China TV Series on CCTV-4
  • November 2003 - Mr. Wang Guangfa, chairman of the board, Beijing Fazheng Group, establishes the Fazheng Guangfa Educational Fellowship Fund at the China Center to support University faculty and staff in developing or carrying out educational initiatives and collaborations with Chinese partners
  • January 2004 - The China Center celebrates its 25th anniversary; former U.S. Senator Rod Grams speaks about U.S.-China relations; former China Center directors gather to be honored for their service to the China Center and more than 400 supporters and friends enjoy Chinese food and New Year's entertainment
  • April 2004 - China Day is broadcast in China on the Meet China program on China's CCTV-4; Sr. Vice President and Provost Christine Maziar leads a discussion between 400 high school students from five area high schools and their peers at the Beijing Royal School in Beijing
  • May 2004 - China Center Friends hosts its first event, a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, featuring a lecture by Professor Zigang Dong, director of the Hormel Institute and a tea demonstration by Dr. Pao
  • May 2004 - China Center with the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (CALA) create a three-week seminar, China's Architecture and Urban Development for undergraduate and graduate students, taught in China under the direction of Professor Arthur Chen of CALA
  • June 2004 - Dr. Wu Jin, former minister of education for Taiwan and president of the National Cheng Kung University, speaks to a standing room-only crowd about Admiral Zheng He of the Ming Dyansty
  • July 2004 - Frank Cerra, senior vice president for health sciences, led a delegation from the Academic Health Center to China; the group visited Hong Kong, Sichuan, Xi'an, and Beijing and had great enthusiasm for future exchanges with Sichuan University and China Agricultural University
  • August 2004 - The University attends the Beijing Education Expo to attract undergraduate and graduate students to enroll at the University; the only U.S. institution at the fair, the University's booth attracts a large number of interested students.
  • August 2004 - Art and Science of Medicine: East Meets West is sponsored by the Medical School to honor University of Minnesota Distinguished International Alumna Dr. Wu Xi-Ru 
  • October - November 2004 - President Bruininks leads a trip to China visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Taiwan; the delegation meets with the U of M Alumni Association chapters and discuss many different educational initiatives with the University's partners in China
  • November 2004 - The first Bob and Kim Griffin Building U.S.-China Bridges Lecture is held; the lecture brings together experts on U.S. trade and policy to discuss the current U.S.-China relationship; speakers include Counselor Tian Jun of the Chinese Embassy and chief negotiator of the WTO accession agreement; Mr. Michael Jemal, CEO and president of Haier America; and Dr. Charles Lee, author of Cowboys and Dragons
  • April 2005 - University of Minnesota Morris Chancellor Sam Schuman leads a delegation to China to explore possible exchanges
  • April 2005 - More than 400 high school students from five area high schools participate in the annual China Day co hosted by the Science Museum of Minnesota; students explore the Chinasaurs exhibit and compete in a Jeopardy-style game on Chinese, Chinese culture, and history.
  • November 2005 - The University of Minnesota and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) host the first bilateral research forum at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing; about 50 faculty, researchers, and administrators attend
  • December 2005 - Dr. Arthur Rolnick, senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, presents the Bob and Kim Griffin Building U.S.-China Bridges Lecture, What Does a Devaluation of the Chinese RMB Mean for the U.S. Economy?
  • January 2006 - Jim McGregor, author of One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China, speaks at the China Center's annual celebration of Chinese New Year
  • January 2006 - The China Center participates in the Chinese New Year Celebration at Best Buy by providing an exhibit on Chinese calligraphy
  • February 2006 - The China Center and the Chinese American Association of Minnesota cosponsor a musical recital held at the University
  • February 2006 - The China Center and St. Lawrence Church co-sponsor a Newman Global Missions Forum, Opening to China: How does their transformation change us? by Sister Janet Carroll, MM, former director of the U.S. China Bureau
  • April 2006 -  The China Center, along with the Intiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture co-sponsor a conference, Biotechnology and Renewable Energy in China and the United States: Update and Opportunities for Collaboration
  • April 2006 - Dr. Hong Yang, director of the China Center, is honored by the International Leadership Institute with a 2006 Twin Cities International Citizen Award
  • December 2006 - Economist and scholar Professor Pieter Bottelier presents the
    2006 Bob and Kim Griffin Lecture on “China’s Role in a Changing World: A
    Comparative Analysis of China and India.”
  • April 2007 - Over 550 high school students attended the annual China Day event. The students listened to speeches from Minnesota State Senator Erik Paulson and Kent Pekel, executive director of the University of Minnesota Consortium for Post Academic Success.
  • May 2007 - Professor Lu Yongxiang, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress and president of the Chinese Academy of Science is awarded an honorary doctorate of science degree from the University of Minnesota.
  • July 2007 - Dr. Yongwei Zhang is named fifth director of the China Center.