Institute of Global Development welcomes inaugural doctoral cohort

The Institute of Global Development at Zhejiang University welcomed its inaugural cohort of doctoral students on September 7, marking a major milestone for the newly established institute as it moves into full operation.

The opening ceremony, held on Zijingang Campus, brought together 25 incoming doctoral students from 14 countries. The cohort includes 21 international students and four Chinese students, all of whom bring substantial professional experience from government, higher education, public institutions or industry.

Present at the ceremony were Pedro Manuel Moreno, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD); GAO Yingzhong, Vice Chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; REN Shaobo, Chairman of the Zhejiang University Council; and CHEN Chao, Director-General of the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs at China’s Ministry of Commerce. ZJU Vice President ZHOU Jianghong presided over the event.

In his remarks, Moreno highlighted the profound changes that digital technologies and artificial intelligence are bringing to the global economy. As technological competition becomes an increasingly important dimension of international competition, he noted, the interplay between geopolitics and geoeconomics is having far-reaching implications for countries’ development trajectories.

Against this backdrop, Moreno pointed to China’s wealth of development experience, noting that policies tailored to local conditions across different parts of the country offer valuable cases for research into global development. Hangzhou, with its vibrant innovation ecosystem, provides an especially dynamic environment in which students can observe development in practice.

He encouraged students to explore ways of sharing development knowledge across borders, promote mutual learning from policy experience, and draw on China’s development practices to help address challenges in different parts of the world. He also expressed UNCTAD’s readiness to deepen cooperation with the Institute.

GAO Yingzhong reaffirmed Zhejiang Province’s commitment to supporting ZJU in its pursuit of world-class excellence and the Institute in building its distinctive strengths.

He expressed the hope that the Institute would enable more international students to gain a deeper understanding of China and experience Zhejiang first-hand, while transforming Zhejiang’s development practices into governance insights with wider global relevance. He envisioned the Institute as both a wellspring of ideas and an incubator of talent for advancing the Global Development Initiative.

REN Shaobo described the Institute as an important platform for advancing the Global Development Initiative and for ZJU to contribute to national priorities and global governance.

He inspired the incoming students to become committed practitioners of common development, with a global outlook and a strong commitment to cooperation and mutual benefit. He also called on them to connect development knowledge across different contexts — translating diverse experiences into insights that can inform dialogue and contribute to collective responses to global challenges.

Besides, REN Shaobo encouraged the students to become champions of global connectivity by building lasting channels of communication and strengthening friendship and cooperation among countries.

ZJU, he said, will fully support the Institute in pursuing high-caliber education and high-quality development, with the aim of building it into a bridge of friendship, cooperation and development between China and the world.

CHEN Chao placed the launch of the Institute’s doctoral program in the broader context of global development. He noted that this year marks the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period, while the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has entered its final five-year stretch.

At this critical juncture, he said, the Ministry of Commerce stands ready to work with partners to support the Institute’s development, further advance the Global Development Initiative and inject new momentum into the global development agenda.

Addressing the inaugural cohort, CHEN Chao encouraged the students to tackle pressing development challenges as “problem-solvers,” venture into emerging fields as “pioneers,” and turn exchange and mutual learning into action as “practitioners.”

During the ceremony, REN Shaobo and Moreno jointly launched a comprehensive cooperation initiative between Zhejiang University and UNCTAD. REN Shaobo also presented appointment certificates to representatives of the Institute’s inaugural group of doctoral supervisors, while ZHOU Jianghong, and HUANG Xianhai, Dean of the Institute of Global Development, presented ZJU badges to the incoming students.

Prior to the ceremony, MA Yanming, President of Zhejiang University, met with Moreno and his delegation. He shared ZJU’s latest developments and expressed his hope that the Institute would create new opportunities for closer collaboration between ZJU and UNCTAD.

He highlighted potential areas of cooperation, including joint academic research, student internships and personnel exchanges, and expressed ZJU’s commitment to working with UNCTAD to advance the Global Development Initiative and contribute to sustainable development worldwide.

Established on March 15, 2026, the Institute is supported by China’s Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education and the Zhejiang Provincial Government. It will work closely with international organizations including UNCTAD and UNICEF, bringing together scholars, policymakers and practitioners from around the world.

The Institute plans to host major international academic forums and involve economists from international economic organizations in doctoral education, giving students greater exposure to global development practice and expanding their capacity to engage in global governance.

The 25 students in the inaugural cohort will be based on the International Campus in Haining, where they will pursue full-time doctoral studies in two major areas: applied economics, and national and global governance.

Senior representatives from UNCTAD, the Ministry of Commerce and relevant Zhejiang provincial authorities also attended the ceremony, alongside ZJU faculty, administrators, doctoral supervisors and members of the inaugural cohort.

Adapted and translated from the article written by SHU Conghan
Photo: TING Guang
Translator: FANG Fumin
Editor: DING Chenwei