On September 21, 2025, marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of sister-city relations between Tianjin and Melbourne and the 10th anniversary of the signing of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, the Nankai University Center for Australian Economy and Culture Research was officially inaugurated. Led by the School of Foreign Studies (SFS) at Nankai University, the Center aims to leverage the School’s strengths in foreign languages and international academic networks to build a high-level platform for academic research and cultural exchange, providing intellectual support for China-Australia cooperation.
The Inauguration Ceremony was held at Nankai University’s Balitai Campus and was jointly presided over by Chen Yulu, President of Nankai University, and Nicholas Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne. As the principal supporting unit of the Center, the SFS will play a central role in advancing systematic and forward-looking research on Australian humanities and social sciences, education, and culture. Introducing the Center’s development plan, Prof. Yan Guodong, Dean of the SFS, outlined three initiatives: publishing an academic journal co-edited by Chinese and Australian scholars, launching a series of monographs on Australian studies, and holding annual reciprocal academic conferences in both cities. These initiatives are designed to deepen multifaceted cooperation in the economic, cultural, and educational fields. The establishment of the Center represents both a concrete action by the SFS in serving China’s external engagement strategy and Tianjin’s international development, as well as a practical step in fulfilling the think-tank function of universities and supporting local foreign affairs.
In his keynote address, Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece emphasized that youth innovation will serve as a key driver of future China–Australia relations. He expressed his hope that, building on the 45th anniversary of sister-city relations, cooperation between Melbourne and Nankai University will be further expanded in talent cultivation, scientific research collaboration, and faculty and student exchanges. As a crucial bridge for people-to-people and cultural communication, the SFS is expected to assume an increasingly important role in promoting deeper integration of education, research, and cultural exchange between the two sides.
From language and culture education to area studies, and from academic exchange to knowledge sharing, the SFS at Nankai University has consistently upheld the fundamental mission of fostering virtue through education. Guided by its talent cultivation philosophy—integrating foreign-language expertise, humanistic literacy, scientific knowledge, global vision, Chinese values, and distinctive Nankai characteristics—the SFS is committed to training professionals who are practitioners of foreign affairs, researchers of international issues, leaders in technological innovation, communicators of human civilization, and providers of language services. The establishment of the Center for Australian Economy and Culture Research marks a key step for the SFS at a new starting point, integrating talent cultivation, academic research, and national strategic service. Anchored by this new platform, the SFS will continue to fulfill its mission of bridging China and the world through education, contributing to the cultivation of internationally oriented, interdisciplinary talent, and writing a new chapter in the friendship between Tianjin and Melbourne, and between China and Australia.
