The initiative behind this Meeting place comes from Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions. The thought behind this initiative is to establish a permanent network to enable communication and sharing of experiences between the different institutions and to better coordinate cooperation with Chinese institutions.
Political Adviser Tarjei Skirbekk said during his speech that China Meeting Place is a positive follow-up of the Norwegian Government’s China Strategy that was launched August 2007. Cooperation on education and research is an important part of Norway’s cooperation with China therefore the Foreign Ministry welcome this initiative. He hopes that China Meeting Place can introduce certain national guidelines to better coordinate the cooperation between the two countries. His view is that ”the best way to predict the future is to create it”, a meeting place for Higher Education and Research Cooperation is in that way an important part of creating the bilateral future between the two countries.
China’s Ambassador to Norway Mr. Tang Guoqiang also welcome the initiative. The Chinese government place high importance on enhancing the overall standard of higher education in China. Part of this is to enhance the cooperation with other countries, including Norway. China and Norway has signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Education and an Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Science and Technology which shows that the Chinese government and universities attach great importance to cooperation more closely with Norway on higher education and research development. China Meeting Place can in this regard serve as platform for exchange of ideas and sharing experience.