Tsinghua University President Meets with University of California Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks

On July 16, 2015, Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong met UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks to exchange ideas on further promoting in-depth and substantive cooperation in global education between the two universities. Tsinghua University Vice President Yang Bin participated in the discussion.

President Qiu said it was the first time they had met since he became President. Tsinghua and UC Berkeley had signed their first collaborative agreement in 1979 and had maintained a very close relationship over the following 30 years. UC Berkeley was a very important partner of Tsinghua, just like an old friend.

Dr. Dirks said that UC Berkeley and Tsinghua had a long history of cooperation. He expressed the hope that more collaboration could be built between the two universities in the coming years to make greater contributions to U.S. and Chinese educational development and to cultivate more future leaders able to deal with global challenges.

UC Berkeley and Tsinghua University signed an agreement to establish the Tsinghua–UC Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (TBSI) in September 2014. The agreement is an addendum to a strategic partnership agreement signed by the two universities in 2012. During their talks, President Qiu and Dr. Dirks discussed cooperation on TBSI and exchanged ideas on further promoting in-depth and substantive cooperation in global education.

Tsinghua University Council Chairperson Chen Xu later held discussions with Dr. Dirks during his visit.

Dr. Nicholas Dirks was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Tsinghua University on April 21st, 2014.