Prof. Fadlo R. Khuri, president of the American University of Beirut (AUB), in Lebanon, paid a visit to Peking University (PKU) on September 18, 2018. He was hosted by PKU president Lin Jianhua; director of the PKU Institute of Area Studies (PKUIAS), Qian Chengdan; and deputy dean of PKU’s School of Foreign Languages, Fu Zhiming.

President Lin welcomed Khuriup on his arrival and gave a brief introduction to PKUIAS, which was established on April 12 this year.

According to Prof. Khuri, among the 9,000-plus students at AUB, about one fourth come from more than 90 regions and countries around the world. As one of the best universities in Lebanon and the Middle East region, AUB has its own Middle East Studies center, and its research on the Middle East is top ranked in the world.

Prof. Qian introduced the reasons behind the establishment of PKUIAS, its student-cultivation program, and two main research areas – Middle East and Central Asia & Russia. He explained that, in the future, students of the institute will be sent to their target countries to study and live for one to two years, and expressed his hope that PKU and AUB would establish a cooperative framework for pushing forward the process.

In turn, Prof. Khuri expressed his support for his university’s cooperation with PKU. He suggested that PKU could list AUB as one of its bases for Middle East Studies for conducting academic exchanges among scholars and students in the fields of linguistic, literary, historical, cultural and regional studies. He proposed that the two sides should sign an MoU as soon as possible.

Prof. Fu has previously visited AUB multiple times. He said there has been long history of cooperation between AUB and PKU’s Department of Arabic Language and Culture. In August this year, the Department of Arabic Language and Culture organized an on-the-spot investigation tour in the Middle East, with about 20 teachers, students and alumni from the School of Foreign Languages and School of International Studies visiting Lebanon and Jordan. In Lebanon, the group visited AUB. He said he believed that future cooperation with AUB would benefit the communication between China and Lebanon.