Summers Visits Chinese Universities, President

University President Lawrence H. Summers returned last night from a five-day swing through China in which he addressed Harvard alumni, toured two Chinese universities and met with China’s President Jiang Zemin.

The meeting with Jiang took place on Monday, mid-way through the trip.

According to the official Chinese news agency, Jiang told Summers of China’s efforts at education reform, while Summers spoke of the importance of higher education to China’s long-term goals.

Summers said he hoped Harvard could help contribute to the advancement of education in China.

At a speech at Tsinghua University, Summers formally announced a collaboration between the Chinese university, China’s government and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (KSG) aimed to train up to 60 Chinese civil servants.

The program, which will run for 11 weeks this summer, will fund education for Chinese mayors and other mid-level government officials at both the Tsinghua University and Harvard.

KSG Dean Joseph S. Nye travelled to China in January to promote the program which will be funded in part by Amway, a multi-national corporation that does business in China.

The itinerary for Summers’ trip also included a number of meetings with Harvard alumni from across Asia and a visit to Peking University—where Summers took questions from students and met with the university’s top administrators.

In his public appearances Summers stressed the role of the university in a knowledge-based economy. Summers has said that he believes universities will serve an increasingly important role as the primary means of disseminating information.

Summers’ visit to China marks the second time that a Harvard President has traveled to China. In 1998, then President Neil L. Rudenstine visited China and met with Jiang.

Rudenstine’s visit came a year after Jiang visited Harvard—an appearance that sparked massive protests over China’s human rights record and issues surrounding Taiwan and Tibet.

In his public appearances, Summers stayed away from inherently political issues, speaking mainly about education and the university.

But a senior aide to Summers present at many of the public events pointed to a number of statements that could be read as political in nature.

During the question and answer session with students at Beijing University, Summers said open disagreement and appreciation of multiple points of view are values central to the university. The best ideas aren’t always the most popular ones, Summers said. And he said politics should never be a factor in the faculty appointment process.

The 13 Harvard professors who accompanied Summers on his trip included Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Peter T. Ellison, Director of the Asia Center William C. Kirby and Butler Professor of Environmental Studies Michael B. McElroy as well as other faculty involved in programs with ties to China.

—Staff writer David H. Gellis can be reached at gellis@fas.harvard.edu.