Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (hereafter ZUEL) is a key university directly administrated by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, a key university sponsored by “211 project”, “985 Project Innovation Platform”, a national university of world-class universities and world-class disciplines (“Double World-Class”). ZUEL is the university jointly founded by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance and Hubei Province.

ZUEL has a far-reaching history, steady and fast development. The predecessor of ZUEL is Zhongyuan University which was founded in 1948 during the War of Liberation by the Central Plains Bureau of the CPC Center Committee with Deng Xiaoping as the First Secretary and Chen Yi, the Second Secretary as the director of Preparatory Committee.During the reconstructing of national high education institutions, Zhongnan Institute of Finance and Economics and Zhongnan College of Politics and Law were established respectively in May 1953 on the basis of the School of Finance and Economics and the School of Political Science and Law of Zhongyuan University, integrating high-quality financial and political education resources of universities in six provinces of South-central China.

In September 1958, Zhongnan Institute of Finance and Economics, Zhongnan Institute of Politics and Law together with Zhongnan Cadre School of Politics and Law and School of Law of Wuhan University were amalgamated to form Hubei University. In December 1971, Hubei University was renamed as Hubei College Training School of Finance and Economics, an in January 1978, it was named Hubei Institute of Finance and Economics, and became one of the first institutes of higher education to resume undergraduate and graduate enrollment.

In December 1984, the Zhongnan Institute of Politics and Law was reestablished on basis of the Faculty of Law of Hubei Institute of Finance and Economics (hereafter HIFE). In September 1985, HIFE was renamed Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics, with Mr Deng Xiaoping inscribing the name. On May 26th, 2000, Zhongnan Institute of Politics and Law and Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics merged to form Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL). In September 2005, ZUEL was listed in “Project 211”, becoming one of the key universities in China. In June 2011, ZUEL was listed in the “985 Project Innovation Platform”. In October 2012, the Ministry of Education of P.R.C., the Ministry of Finance of P.R.C., and the People’s Government of Hubei Province signed an agreement to build ZUEL jointly. In September 2017, ZUEL was selected in the first round of the national “Double World-Class” list and was again selected in the second round in February 2022.

ZUEL boasts high-level education, cultivated a significant number of students. Adhered to the university motto of “extensive knowledge, rational thought, moral integrity, and social commitment”, ZUEL sticks to the educational philosophy of “to be self-disciplined and right-minded, strive for innovation and perfection” and pass on the revolutionary tradition of “founded by the Party, built for the Party, grown for the country, developed for the people”. The university has established a comprehensive education system with the integration of economics and law, and set up a cultivation pattern for talents featured inclusiveness, innovation and openness, thus cultivating over 400,000 excellent students for the national economic and social development.

There are more than 20,000 full-time undergraduates, 8,800 master’s degree students, 1,300 doctoral degree students, more than 600 international students, and more than 24,000 students in continuing education. There are 61 undergraduate majors, 30 national first-class undergraduate majors, 41 national first-class undergraduate courses, 3 national model courses of Civic and Political Science, 7 doctoral degree authorization points in first-class disciplines, 17 master’s degree authorization points in first-class disciplines, 18 master’s degree authorization points, and 7 postdoctoral mobile stations.

Since 2000, the university has focused on building more than 400 integrated courses, creating the largest integrated course system of economics, law, and management in China. ZUEL has won one first prize and six second prizes in the National Teaching Achievement Award and one faculty member was awarded Advanced Individual in the National Textbook Construction sponsored by the National Textbook Committee (NTC) and undertaken by the Ministry of Education (MOE). ZUEL has been approved for four National Research and Reform Practice Projects of New Liberal Arts and five New Engineering Research and Reform Practice Projects. ZUEL has also been approved three National Experimental Teaching Demonstrating Centers, one National Virtual Simulation Experiment Teaching Center, two National Virtual Teaching and Research Center and three bases of the first batch of Outstanding Legal Talents Cultivating Program. In the past 10 years, the university has won 3 national gold medals and 10 silver medals in the Internet+, Challenge Cup, and Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship competitions.

ZUEL contains a complete range of disciplines with distinctive features. With economics, law, and management as its pillars, ZUEL has established a balanced academic structure, including philosophy, education, literature, history, science, engineering, art, and interdisciplinary subjects. ZUEL has four national key disciplines and one national key cultivation discipline. The discipline of law was selected as a ‘double first-class’ construction discipline, and the Law and Economics Discipline Cluster Construction Plan was approved by the Ministry of Education. As one of the founding members, ZUEL co-established the Legal Alliance, a national alliance of universities in politics and law, and has also taken the lead in initiating and establishing a few alliances in disciplines with strong industry characteristics, including the Alliance for the Construction of First-class Disciplines in Finance and Economics, the International Criminal Justice Alliance, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Intellectual Property Law Alliance.

ZUEL is equipped with a contingent of qualified teaching and research faculty. Up to now, ZUEL has over 2500 faculty members, among which there are more than 1500 full-time teachers, 900 professors, and associate professors and nearly 270 doctoral supervisors. Eleven people from ZUEL were crowned as Leading Talents at the National Level and 15 as Young Talents at the National Level,8 were elected as members of the Teaching Advisory Board under the Ministry of Education, 12 were awarded the title of National Model Teacher, National Outstanding Teacher, National Outstanding Educator, Top National Higher Education Teacher, National Advanced Workers in the Education System or National Women’s Model Workers in the Education System,89 experts enjoy the special allowances of the State Council. ZUEL also boasts two Huang Danian role-model teaching teams (named after the late renowned geophysicist in honor of his contribution to the country), one National Outstanding Young Jurist, four experts titled as Jingchu Masters in Social Sciences by Hubei Provincial Committee and Hubei Provincial Government for their contributions in humanities and social sciences, and thirteen hosts in Hubei Distinguished Teacher Workshop.

ZUEL takes the lead in scientific research innovations with outstanding achievements. In recent years, the number of projects approved by the National Social Science Fund of China in ZUEL has taken the lead among the institutes of higher education in our country, ranking first among the institutes of economics or law. Over the past decade, ZUEL has undertaken over 1600 items of key projects at the state, provincial, and ministerial levels, made over 15,000 in total Scientific Research Achievements, and over 2,000 achievements related to think tanks and social services. In the 13th Five-Year Plan period, ZUEL has harvested 18 awards in Science Research Famous Achievement Award in Higher Institution (Humanities and Social Sciences) from the Ministry of Education, and two results awarded “significant achievements in scientific and technological innovation in higher institution over the past 40 years of reform and opening up” by the Ministry of Education. The Journal of Law and Business Studies, sponsored by ZUEL, ranked among the top core journals in law and was selected as one of the Top 100 Newspapers in China. The Journal of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law was awarded the title of “Authoritative Social Science Journal of National Universities” and “Authoritative Academic Journal with International Influence in China”.

ZUEL merits a strong sense of responsibility to serve the society. ZUEL has been active in meeting China's major strategic needs, taking the lead in drafting and revising over 40 laws at national level. In the positive interaction with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, State Administration of Taxation, National Bureau of Statistics, National Intellectual Property Administration and the Development Research Centre of the State Council, ZUEL has built a batch of high-quality think tanks, offering a series of constructive advice that contributes to decision-making on the country’s fiscal reform, legal construction, financial innovation, intellectual property protection and social governance. The university now owns one Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences administered by the Ministry of Education, four bases of the Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project (111 Project) launched by the Ministry of Education, one National Research Laboratory for Smart Governance (Elderly Care Service).Meanwhile, the university has jointly established 24 high-level academic platforms with the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the National Intellectual Property Administration and other ministries, commissions and provincial units. Seven think tanks have been selected as the source think tanks of Chinese Think Tank Index (CTTI), and four think tanks have consistently ranked among the Top 100 University Think Tanks of CTTI. ZUEL also contributed to the ecological governance in Yichang in Hubei Province as its Co-Innovation Center for Social Governance of Urban and Rural Communities took a leading role in Yichang Trial, a successful project for ecological governance in Three Gorges Ecological and Economic Cooperation Zone, of which President Xi Jinping spoke highly when he inspected the city in April, 2018. The first CCB Academy was established in cooperation with China Construction Bank to build a new strategic alliance between industry, academia, and research. It has been approved as a State-level Continuing Education Base for Professionals and Technicians and has been included in the list of key tasks for building a learning society by the Ministry of Education in 2023.

ZUEL embraces globalization and commits to collaborative development. ZUEL has established cooperation and exchange relations with more than 100 universities and research institutions in more than 20 countries and regions.

ZUEL programs were selected on the funding lists of Innovation & Practice Program for the Cultivation of Globally Competitive Talents of the Ministry of Education, International Legal Talent Collaborative Cultivation and Innovation Base (Cultivation), High-end Foreign Experts Recruitment Plan and The Young Foreign Talent Plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and International Cooperative Training Programs for Innovative Talents and Reserve Talents Training Program for International Organizations of China Scholarship Council (CSC), and Talent Support Program for International and Regional Studies. Also, ZUEL is one of the first pilot universities of the Overseas Program for Academics in the International Organization of CSC. In 2017 and 2019, the Austrian Branch and Serbian Branch of the ZUEL Institute of Income Distribution and Public Finance were set up respectively in the University of Novi Sad in Serbia and the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria. In 2022, the ZUEL-SUR School of Law and Economics, co-established by ZUEL and Sapienza University of Rome in Italy, received the official approval of the Ministry of Education. Furthermore, ZUEL has actively supported the teachers in carrying out international research cooperation projects. For instance, teachers of ZUEL actively participated in the Roman Jurists (Scriptores iuris Romani) project of the European Research Council and participated in the legislative research of International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) Model Law on Factoring.Several professors serve as consulting experts for the World Bank loan Project of the Ministry of Finance, and hold positions as consultants or advisors in international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNIDROIT. Many students have gone to international organizations for internships. In addition, nine courses of ZUEL have been rated as national and provincial brand courses for overseas students.

ZUEL is immersed in a beautiful environment and infused with a humanistic atmosphere. ZUEL is composed of two campuses, the Nanhu campus and the Shouyi campus, covering an area of over 2,800 mu (187 hectares) with a gross floor area of 1,200,000 square meters. The Nanhu campus is on the bank of the picturesque Nanhu Lake, and the Shouyi campus is at the foot of the Yellow Crane Tower, one of the four great ancient towers of China. The library has over 3.48 million volumes of paper books, over 4.67 million volumes of electronic books, over 3.73 million volumes of electronic periodicals, 68 databases of Chinese and foreign academic literature resources, and 586 sub-databases. ZUEL has built the Museum of Chinese Monetary and Financial History and the Museum of Chinese Accounting History. Our sports ground was used as the main sports field for the fourth National University Games and the stadium for Chinese Football Association China League. With these excellent facilities, ZUEL has been holding a broad series of “the second classroom” activities themed on academic research, innovation and entrepreneurship, liberal arts, and volunteer work to promote the full development of students.

Going forward, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, ZUEL will continue to cultivate talents for the Party and the state by building itself into a world-class university where economics and law are fully integrated.Through high-quality development, it will better serve the construction of the leading country in education and the Chinese path to modernization.

(Last Update: June 2025)