China Watch links with business school

While meeting in Normandy on June 12, Chinese and French officials celebrated the signing of a collaborative agreement between China Watch, Neoma Business School and Neoma Confucius Institute for Business-Rouen.

The partnership will further the media group's efforts in connecting the business communities of China and Europe, and facilitating better understanding of China in Europe.

Ji Tao, assistant editor-in-chief of China Daily Group and editor of China Daily Europe, said: "As China Daily European Weekly focuses on interpreting both China's fast-developing economy and its implications for our European readers, we have been keen on forging partnerships with business schools here."

According to the agreement, each side anticipates that the strategic partnership will allow the leveraging of respective strengths to raise its profile, considering the respective strong presence and influence of each in its domain.

Haiyan Zhang, director of the Neoma Confucius Institute for Business-Rouen, added: "Based on Neoma's Rouen campus in northern France, our institute is the first Business Confucius Institute in France and the seventh in the world."

The institute promotes economic relations between China and France by helping local companies develop their business activities in China. "This partnership with China Watch will offer us better visibility and, of course, understanding of Chinese companies' expectations," Zhang said.

The partnership includes a China Daily European Weekly subscription promotion and also co-branding and organizing events, jointly initiating a Belt and Road Initiative think tank alliance and an annual progress report.

The initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, spanning infrastructure and other projects linking Asia and Europe, which was launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013.

The partnership also involves opinion page contributions for China Daily. Ji said: "We know that Neoma Business School boasts of a network of high-level specialists on international economic topics, and especially investments and perspectives on cooperation between France and China. The points of view of these experts will be the occasion to give to our readers high level content."

The announcement of the partnership was made 15 months after Neoma Confucius Institute for Business-Rouen's launch. "We are really proud of this new agreement with China Daily. We consider it proof of recognizing our expertise and relevance in the field of economic relationships between France and China," said Zhang.

Frank Bostyn, dean of the business school, said Neoma "has the firm intention of being a top school training the flexible, innovative leaders of tomorrow's economy, where China will have a dominant role. Today, we have more than 1,000 graduates based in China and more than 300 Chinese students on our campuses in France."

Rouen, with a population of 500,000 living in 70 different communes, is the capital of the Upper Normandy region and a leading economic center.

fujing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 06/19/2015 page16)