Iran-China Joint Chamber and Centre for Chinese Research sign MoU

Report by Directorate for International Academic Cooperation —

On 11 December 2021, the Centre for Chinese Research (CCR) at ATU signed an MoU on academic cooperation with the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce. Majidreza Hariri, Head of the Chamber; Mehdi Changizi, member of the Chamber's Board of Directors; Gholamali Chegnizadeh, Head of the CCR; and Mandana Tishehyar, ATU's Director of International Academic Cooperation, represented the two parties in this session.

At the beginning of the session, Majidreza Hariri referred to the passive role played by universities in Iran-China relations over the past decade and said: "We, as the actors in the economic sphere, need academic literacy. To this aim, we can work together, and the CCR can meet the Chamber's intellectual needs."

Emphasising that numerous mental barriers have prevented the proper use of opportunities in Iran-China relations, he added: "These mental barriers exist, both at the level of policymakers and the society. As we all have graduated from European, US, or Iranian universities, we have been educated in the educational systems of these countries, and we do not have true mentalities about China."

Hariri then continued that "apart from the Belt and Road Initiative, issues such as China's Dual Circulation Strategy, its five-year plans, and the China 2025 and China 2030 plans, etc. are all topics neglected in scientific circles on Chinese studies."

Then, Gholamali Chegnizadeh, director of the CCR at Allameh Tabataba'i University, said: "Unfortunately, despite the prevalence of discussions about China in our country, there is no support from the academia." He then added that there is no national discourse on China in Iran and said: "Our relations with China will be of no great benefit to us unless our country has a clear narrative about China."

Mandana Tishehyar, Director of International Academic Cooperation at ATU, then said: "Since the establishment of the CCS, we have cooperated with various Chinese universities and held joint conferences on Iran-China relations in partnership with the Confucius Foundation. ATU Professors teach Persian at three Chinese universities in Shanghai and Beijing, and Chinese professors have been teaching Chinese at ATU for two years. Moreover, since last year, Iranian and Chinese academics have held a series of online sessions on cultural, economic, and political issues.

Mehdi Changizi, a board member at the Chamber, also said that the Chamber's mission is to develop relations between the two countries and added, "Unfortunately, we cannot develop the relations appropriately, since people are unfamiliar with Chinese culture. China is our second trading partner, but the two countries are unfamiliar with each other's cultures. If we know a country's culture, we can have better trades, and this will be a win-win trade."