2 Tuesday, May 27, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Chinese education officials visit 'U' As China Now theme year ends, officials talk of collaboration By CHARLES GREGG-GEIST Daily News Editor University President Mary Sue Coleman has made it clear that she wants to expand the University's involvement in China. Coleman traveled to China in 2005 and has frequently worked to strengthen the University's relationships with institutions there. She reaffirmed her commitment to workingclosely with China this month, hosting 23 top Chinese education officials for two weeks of discussions about expanding current partnerships and initiating new ones. The delegation spent the last two weeks in southeast Michigan discussing how to advance partner- ships between the United States and China and create autonomy in Chi- nese universities. The delegation included presi- dents, vice presidents and other high-level officials from Chinese universities, as well as representa- tives from the Chinese Ministry of MEMORIAL MARCH Education and National Academy of Education Administration. In addition to meeting with fac- ulty and administrators from the University, the members of the delegation also visited Michigan State University and Wayne State University. "The (Chinese) universities are economic engines for their regions, just as the University of Michigan is an economic engine for south- east Michigan," Cook said. "As are Michigan State University and Wayne State University." The discussions with 23 top officials from 18 leading Chinese universities and government agen- cies marked the conclusion of the University's "China Now" theme year. "Stronger relationshipsbetween China's and Michigan's universi- ties will ensure that our students and scholars are better prepared to cooperate on the emerging opportunities that are shaping the global marketplace," Coleman said in a written statement. Both China and Michigan are set to benefit from these relation- ships, Cook said. From 1999 to 2005 the number of students earning degrees from Chinese universities quadrupled, and Chinese officials are now look- ing to update their higher educa- tion systems. Cook said the Chinese officials were interested in moving towards an administration structure that more closely resembled the Uni- versity's. "They see how effective that is at the University of Michigan, to have a more decentralized deci- sion-making structure and more powerful deans," she said. Linzhong Yu, president of East China Normal University, said in a written statement that the Chi- nese higher education system puts too much power in the Ministry of Education. As Chinese universities grow, he said, they need to adopt the models used by successful universities in other countries. "We need a lot of autonomy," he said. The centerpiece of the Universi- ty's current partnership with Chi- nese universities is the University of Michigan - Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute formed in 2005. The institute, housed on the campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, grants a joint degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong and the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. Dexiu Ma, chairwoman of the SJTU University Council, met Fri- day with representatives from the University and discussed ways to expand the joint institute over the next three years. 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