Trust is vital in uncertain times, says UCL chief

Trust and cooperation are needed more than ever as the challenges facing humanity become increasingly global, according to Michael Spence, president and provost of University College London.

Speaking at China Daily's Vision China event in London on Thursday, Spence said the long history of academic exchanges between China and the United Kingdom demonstrates what can be achieved when relationships are built on openness and mutual trust.

"We need trust and cooperation now more than ever as the challenges we face grow ever more global," he said. "Climate change does not recognize national borders. Disease does not stop at customs posts. The opportunities and risks presented by artificial intelligence belong to all of us."

UCL's links with China stretch back almost two centuries. The university hosted the UK's first professorship in Chinese studies in 1837 and today has more than 30,000 alumni and 15,000 students associated with China, while UCL researchers have produced more than 10,000 co-authored papers with Chinese counterparts. But Spence said the relationship should not be understood simply through numbers.

"The foundation for each of these shared British and Chinese achievements is a single principle: trust," he said. "Trust enables cooperation across boundaries of culture, of discipline, even of temperament."

Spence highlighted UCL's collaboration with Chinese universities including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Research between UCL and Peking University alone has helped use machine learning to optimize radiotherapy for cancer patients in Beijing, contributed to efforts to prevent neural tube defects worldwide and enabled physicists to discover that the far side of the moon is about 100 C cooler than the near side, he said.

Spence also emphasized the importance of language and cultural understanding in building trust.

Recalling that he began learning Mandarin while studying at the University of Oxford, he said learning another language offers more than an understanding of grammar — it provides a deeper appreciation of another country and its people.

He pointed to UCL's role in the Mandarin Excellence Programme, which has enabled almost 10,000 pupils across England to learn Mandarin since 2016.

"Young people are acquiring not simply a language, but the confidence to engage with another culture and to build connections across borders," he said.

Spence said the contribution of Chinese students and researchers extends beyond academia, with UCL's Chinese community playing an important role in London's cultural, social and economic life.

He said universities have an important role to play in building trust and fostering cooperation by creating a common space where people can establish relationships and exchange ideas.

"Trust depends on people and the relationships they forge," he said, adding that meaningful engagement requires "respect to listen, patience to understand and a meaningful interest in appreciating the view on the other side".

Reflecting on what British and Chinese students, scholars and researchers have already achieved together, Spence said he saw "proof of what is possible". "Trust creates understanding. Understanding enables cooperation. And cooperation expands the boundaries of human progress."

wangmingjie@mail.chinadailyuk.com