Philippe Rheault, Consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Guangzhou, and his delegation paid a visit to GDUFS on July 8th. They were warmly greeted by SHI Youqi, President of GDUFS, in the Executive Building.

Talk between the two parties

SHI warmly welcomed the visit and gave them a detailed introduction to GDUFS’s current teaching programs and plans for training new talent. He expressed that, as a university with distinctive international characteristics, GDUFS has established cooperative relations with various universities and institutions at home and abroad and is devoted to cultivating high-quality talents with international vision. Also, he reviewed former cooperation and exchanges between GDUFS and universities in Canada. Up to now, the two sides have signed five cooperative agreements, one of which is between GDUFS and the University of Ottawa. In addition, the Canadian Studies Center established by GDUFS, one the 42 national and regional research bases in China, has published seven volumes of the “Blue Book of Canada”. The distinctive brand set up by the English School Attached to GDUFS, the “Sino-Canadian program”, has cultivated large numbers of international talents. SHI Youqi expressed that, since the establishment of Sino- Canadian diplomatic ties 51 years ago, fruitful achievements have been made in terms of business, trade, culture and multilateral cooperation. It is hoped that through this visit, GDUFS will further promote communication and exchanges with universities in Canada and carry out more high-quality and high-level cooperation in faculty exchange and the setting up of Confucius Institutes, and ultimately bring the bilateral relations to a new level.

Consul Philippe Rheault extended his heartfelt gratitude for GDUFS’s warm welcome and praised its achievements in making itself a university with distinctive international features. He mentioned that with the joint efforts of the two countries, Sino-Canadian relations have made great progress. And he hoped to enhance communication and exchanges and jointly push for greater breakthroughs in bilateral relations. He spoke highly of the collaboration and communication between Canadian institutions for higher education and GDUFS, and hoped to promote talent training and academic exchanges through the integration of resources, so as to make a joint contribution to the development of the Sino-Canadian relationship.

Group Photo

Relevant officials from the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, the Canadian Studies Center, as well as the English School attached to Guangdong University of Foreign Studies attended the meeting.