On the afternoon of November 3, 2025, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law（ZUEL）and Walailak University held a signing ceremony for the “2+2” joint undergraduate program in Chinese Language and Literature, in the conference room on the fifth floor of Zhongyuan Building. This signing is an important milestone in deepening international education cooperation between the two universities, and also signals ZUEL’s first “2+2” joint undergraduate program agreement for international students. Attendees included Zhu Fangwei, President and Deputy Party Secretary of ZUEL; Zheng Ying, Dean of the International Education School; Yu Xiucai, Dean of the School of Journalism and Cultural Communication; along with Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, President of Walailak University; and Chalen Benyakhan, Vice President of Walailak University; and other relevant officials from both institutions. The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions regarding the collaboration. The ceremony was presided over by Dean Zheng Ying.
In his welcome speech, President Zhu Fangwei reviewed the fruitful and progressively deepening collaboration between the two universities since 2021. The partnership has evolved from mutual visits of Chinese language teachers and academic interaction between faculty and students, to the joint establishment of a Confucius Institute, and further to the advancement of this “2+2” joint undergraduate program. He then highlighted the distinctive educational philosophy of ZUEL and strategic plan for its Shouyi International Campus, emphasizing that the “1+N+N” Model to integrate three functional sectors, including an international academic district, an industry-university-research park, and an international cultural community. This will provide a new platform for the collaboration between the two universities in such fields as interdisciplinary research integrating artificial intelligence with economics, law, and management, in-depth visits between faculty and students, and collaborative research projects.
Dr.Sombat Thamrongthanyawong expressed his expectation for future cooperation between the two universities in his address. Heintroduced thatWalailak University, afast-growing research university in southern Thailand, ranks among the top in multiple areas related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and attaches great importance to international cooperation. He highly recognized ZUEL’s academic reputation in economics, law,and management,and hoped thathe two sides would broaden and deepen collaboration in faculty exchanges, research cooperation and talent cultivation through this agreement.
During the meeting,Dr.Sirikhun Phanrangsee, Associate Dean of the School of Liberal Arts atWalailak University, introduced thejointConfucius Institute project. The two sides held in-depth discussions on the future direction of cooperation.At the end of the ceremony, the two university presidents signed the cooperation agreement and exchanged cultural souvenirs, marking the successful completion of the signing ceremony.
The signing marks a critical step forward in the collaboration between the two universities, expanding it from language education to multi-disciplinary and multi-level joint training programs. Going forward, the two universities will deepen cooperation on the platform of the Shouyi International Campus and jointly build a Confucius Institute for Business and Law, establish a research alliance for economics and law in Southeast Asia, and launch a preparatory program for international students. These initiatives will inject new impetus into people-to-people exchanges and higher education cooperation between China and Thailand.
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Reported by: Li Jiaqi
Photographed by: Du Peng