December 11-12, 2026: Following an invitation from John’s Hopkins University (JHU) President Ron Daniels, Chinese Academy of Science scholar and Nanjing University (NJU) President Zhemin Tan visited the United States with his delegation. The representatives from NJU visited the JHU main campus in Baltimore, MD, as well as the Washington, DC campus, home of the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Meeting with alumni at the American campuses brought forth new impetus for U.S.-China higher education collaboration and cultural exchange. Hopkins Nanjing Center’s (HNC) Chinese Co-director Xiaorong Li, American Co-director Adam Webb were in attendance, along with representatives from NJU’s Graduate School, School of Environment, Business School and International Affairs Office.
Representatives of NJU and JHU
at the Signing of the HNC New Five-Year Cooperation Agreement
On December 11th, President Tan’s delegation visited JHU and met with President Daniels and Provost Ray Jayawardhana. Tan, Daniels, and Jayawardhana each signed the Hopkins Nanjing Center’s new Five-Year Cooperation Agreement. With the past 40 years of collaboration as a basis, both parties agreed to carry on their collaborative spirit and innovative cooperation. The two institutions together will create a new, future-oriented paradigm for cultivating high-level cross-cultural talents connecting East and West.
President Tan remarked that the HNC, having been established almost 40 years prior and experiencing the tests of ever-changing U.S.-China relations, could already be considered a paragon for international higher education collaboration. Even in the present as the international sitiuation faces major changes, the mission of the universities to promote cultural and educational exchange has remained unwavering. President Tan expressed the desire of NJU to continue working with JHU in the future on a joint effort to support the HNC and develop its important role as a bridge and a leader, especially against the background of this new era.
President Daniels expressed his gratitude towards NJU for many years of supporting the development of the HNC. He emphasized that over the past 40 years, both institutions had worked together to carry on and develop the joint vision of the HNC founders, JHU President Steven Muller and NJU President Yaming Kuang. These visionaries not only initiated a pioneering project for U.S.-China higher education collaboration, but also established a new global benchmark for cultural exchange. President Daniels said he looks forward to continuing the long-standing cooperative relationship with NJU, and to further deepening the partnership of the two institutions.
The Chinese and American Co-Directors of the HNC each pledged to actively design the future blueprint of the HNC under the steady leadership and support from the leaders of each institution. Hand in hand, the Co-directors will strive to continuously improve the academic impacts and good reputation of the center while creating a richer and more vivacious school community.
On December 12th, President Tan and the NJU delegation visited the JHU SAIS campus and met with Vice Dean Peter Lewis, and Associate Deans Mark Bailey and Khadija Hill. Both parties expressed their dedication to maintaining close partnerships in the future, especially regarding the new addition of the English semester program at the HNC. They also committed to continued promotion of coordination between the three campuses in DC, Bologna, and Nanjing, and to raising the international reputation and academic competitiveness of the HNC.
Group photo of the meeting participants
at the SAIS campus
After the meeting, the two institutions held a seminar discussion. HNC Co-Directors Li and Webb along with JHU Carey Business School Professor Alessandro Rebucci, NJU Business School Vice-President Liangding Jia, and NJU School of Environment Vice President Yu Zhao conducted a conversation surrounding China’s new economic development strategies, business AI applications, environmental governance policies and other topics, allowing exchange and discussion amongst the audience as well.
In the evening of December 12th, Co-Directors Li and Webb joined NJU Graduate School Director and HNC Joint Academic Committee member Xiaolei Wang and NJU Business School Vice President Liangding Jia at the Washington, DC campus happy hour, where they socialized freely with HNC alumni and discussed the Center’s progress.
