China's prestigious Beijing University and the Beijing Medical University officially merged Monday, considered the second largest merger in the country's higher-education sector next only to the restructured Zhejiang University, which completed a merger in 1998.
Beijing University President Xu Zhihong and former Beijing Medical University President Wang Debing held that the merger, which began in 1994 and has passed long-term negotiation, was a must, and will be beneficial to the development of both schools. Xu Zhihong, who is still Beijing University president after the merger, pointed out that such a merger aims to build a world- acknowledged university.
"All the world's best universities have the best medical schools, and the world's first-rate medical schools are always affiliated with universities," noted Xu.
Wang Debing, now secretary of Beijing University's Chinese Communist Party Committee, said that Beijing University and Beijing Medical University have a similar academic style, and also hold the same goal of building world acknowledged universities. In 1998, the Chinese government announced that it would build some universities, including Beijing University, into world's top universities. Beijing Medical University, founded in 1912, is China's largest-scale medical school.
China's prestigious Beijing University and the Beijing Medical University officially merged Monday, considered the second largest merger in the country's higher-education sector next only to the restructured Zhejiang University, which completed a merger in 1998.
