2018 China-Baltic Economy and Management Forum was held at SILC on November 6. Prof. Zhang Xiaotian, Director of International Office, Shanghai University, and Prof. Lyu Kangjuan, Dean of SHU-UTS SILC Business School are the honorary chairman. Prof. Zheng Xiaosong from SILC is the chairman of the forum.
The forum attracted many scholars and guests including Prof. Alojzy Nowak from University of Warsaw, Prof. Kestutis Duoba from Kaunas University of Technology, Prof. Lehte Alver from Tallinn University of Technology, Prof. Zaneta Ozolina from University of Latvia, Prof. Mikko Siponen from University of Jyvaskyla, and Prof. Leonid Shirokorad and Prof. Viktor Riazanov from Saint Petersburg State University. Faculty from SILC, scholars, business leaders, and government officials also attended the forum.
Prof. Zhang Xiaotian welcomed the scholars from the Baltic countries and embassy officials, business leaders, and the other Chinese and foreign guests. He said Shanghai University was selected as a local high-quality experiment university by Shanghai municipal government in 2016. Business discipline is one of the six first-class disciplines in the key development project of Shanghai University. President Xi Jinping proposed new silk road and 21st century maritime silk road initiatives in 2013. The economic and trade research on the belt and road countries, however, only focuses on Russia and Uzbekistan currently. The economic and trade cooperation between China and Baltic countries is very limited. The studies on economic complementarities between China and Baltic countries are rarely undertaken. The forum aims to promote exchange of ideas in this field through extensive communication on the latest policies and researches on economy, trade, and management of China and Baltic countries and make some efforts to drive multi-faceted economic cooperation between China and Baltic countries.
Prof. Lyu Kangjuan said that as a China-foreign joint business school, SHU-UTS SILC Business School has over 15000 alumni spreading all over world 500 companies and universities in Western Europe, North America, and Australia. SILC is the first China-foreign joint school accredited by national authorities. SILC has been selected as top ten influential China-foreign joint schools by Sina and Xinhua net for consecutive 7 years since 2010. As the earliest and most reputable China-foreign joint business school, SILC and University Technology Sydney, its foreign partner, have successfully attracted many world-class faculty through joint appointment. SILC became a AACSB member in 2013 and is now expecting the on-site visit in 2019 after its self-evaluation report was accepted. The abbreviation of the school is SILC that sounds exactly the same as silk, which suggests that our school is destined to initiate a new silk road for China-foreign joint business research. We are willing to carry out collaborations of mutual benefit with friendly countries and international universities.
Prof. Zaneta Ozolina from University of Latvia, Prof.Alojzy Nowak from University of Warsaw, Prof. Mikko Siponen from University of Jyvaskyla, Ms. Daina Klepone, Director of Business Office, Ministry of Economics, Lithuania, and other scholars and business leaders delivered keynote speeches.
The one-day forum achieved satisfactory results. As Prof. Lyu said, the cooperation between China and the Baltic countries and the universities in these countries have a brilliant future under the background of globalized understanding of a community with a shared future for mankind.
