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Home > About NC State > Chancellor > Speeches and Writings > 2006 > Visit From Chinese Ambassador Zhou WnezhongVisit from Ambassador Zhou Wnezhong from China
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Talley Student Center
10:30 a.m.
Today, North Carolina State University is pleased and honored to welcome the Ambassador to the United States from the People's Republic of China, His Excellency, Zhou Wenzhong and his wife, Madame Xie Shumin. Also here with the Ambassador are several members of his delegation: Mr. Cong Song, Assistant to the Ambassador and Second Secretary; Dr. You Shaohong, Minister-Counselor for Education; Mr. Zhang Ping, Counselor for Congressional Affairs; Mr. Zhao Jiang, First Secretary for Education; and Mr. Chen Ye, Second Secretary for Consular Affairs. Thank you Mr. Ambassador for joining us and for your willingness to share your thoughts on the role of China-U. S. relations in this global economy.
We also appreciate the opportunity to discuss our university and the important role NC State plays in attracting international talent and resources. NC State is dedicated to serving the citizens of North Carolina through our land grant mission of teaching and research, as well as extension, engagement and economic development. With 31,000 students and 1,800 faculty, NC State continues to be a national leader in scholarship and innovation across many disciplines.
We have more than 500 Chinese students, 40 Chinese faculty and 40 Chinese visiting scholars at NC State who are actively engaged in our campus community. Student organizations such as the Chinese Club help promote diversity, new cultural experiences and innovative educational opportunities to our students, faculty and staff.
As you know, our provost, Dr. Larry Nielson, our interim vice provost for international programs, Dr. Bailian Li and our associate dean of our graduate school, Dr. Duane Larick, just completed a landmark trip to China that will help position NC State as a role model in developing international education. During the trip, NC State signed agreements with six Chinese universities: Peking University, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, China Agricultural University, Beijing Forestry University and the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
These international agreements go well beyond study abroad and will help redefine international education at NC State. They will create new avenues for our students, our faculty and our graduates to compete globally and give North Carolina new opportunities for strong linkages to an emerging economy. We look forward to developing our relationships with each of these institutions.
Let me introduce our guest of honor.
His Excellency, Ambassador Wenzhong began his career as a diplomat in the Beijing Diplomats Service Bureau in 1970. From 1973 to 1975 he went to England for advanced studies at Bath University and the London School of Economics.
Upon his return to China in 1975, he was employed in the Foreign Ministry's Translation Office. Three years later, he was transferred to the Chinese Embassy in the United States where he worked until 1983. He returned to the U.S. in 1987 as vice consul general in San Francisco.
In 1990, he was named ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Barbados and concurrently to Antigua & Barbuda, positions he held until 1993 when he then returned to China to serve as the deputy director of the department of American Affairs for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Wenzhong returned to the U.S. in 1994 to become consul general in Los Angeles, and from 1995 to 1998 served as China's envoy to the United States. He was appointed ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Australia in 1998.
In 2001, he was named Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and became Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2003. He became Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States in 2005. Truly a distinguished career.
Please join me in a warm NC State welcome for His Excellency, Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong.