Chinese VP Presents Book Gift for New ANU China Center

Visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has presented a gift of more than 1,800 books, donated by the Chinese Government, to the Australian Center on China , a new national China studies center located at the Australian National University or ANU. CRI's Australia correspondent Chen Feng files this report.

At the book presentation ceremony at the Hall of ANU on Tuesday morning, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping says over the years, Australian research institutions, just as the new ANU China Center, will have devoted their time and interests to the study of Chinese civilization, contributing to further knowledge about China here in Australia, as well as person-to-person and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

"I'm sure the establishment of the research center will create a brand-new high level platform for exchanges and communication between the people of China and Australia. Today, I would like to present a number of books, on behalf of the Chinese government, to the Center on China in the World, as a token of our support to the Center as all the books have been very carefully selected."

It is said the books cover multiple aspects of Chinese history, culture and philosophy, as well as China's contemporary economic and social development and its external relations. Xi Jinping says he hopes these books will facilitate the research work at the Center, and he will also encourage relevant Chinese research institutions to carry out in-depth exchanges with ANU, especially the Center to strengthen mutual understanding and exchanges between academia and think-tanks of the two countries.

In return, ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Chubb presented the Chinese Vice-President with a selection of books covering Australian history and culture, as well as the story of engagement between China and Australia.

"The ANU has a long tradition of studying China, and engaging with it, and the study of the Asia-Pacific region. It has been intrinsic to the ANU from its foundation, and this was indeed mandated by the government at the time of its establishment in 1946. This Center will become the principle focus of new research on all our aspects of China, taking an integrated approach that has been called the New Sinology."

The Vice Chancellor also expressed his gratitude for the gift of books from the Chinese Government, saying it will help scholars and students understand modern China and how Australia can best relate to it. While at ANU, Vice President Xi Jinping also formally opened the Australia-China Joint Research Center of Functional Molecular Materials, a joint project between ANU and Jiangsu University. Then he flew to Darwin for the afternoon, the last stop of his six-day tour of Australia.

For CRI, this is Chen Feng in Canberra, Australia.