MANDATE AND ACTIVITY

MANDATE

The UBC China Council (CC) is a cross-university group that helps catalyze, facilitate, and support UBC’s engagement with China. It also advises the UBC leadership on strategy for UBC engagement with China, and has the responsibility to monitor all aspects of UBC’s engagement, including keeping track of all formal agreements between UBC and China, advising on proposed agreements, and providing strategic thinking on possible new means of deepening UBC’s China engagement. To the extent possible, the CC collects information about research collaborations between UBC and China, and promotes and assist new collaborations. The China Council will need to be informed of any cooperation that requires a formal agreement between UBC and a Chinese institution, so that it can maintain a complete inventory of such agreements and can provide advice when appropriate. An important task will be to inventory the existing formal agreements between UBC units and Chinese institutions.

The China Council also serves as a central clearinghouse for expertise about China, as information about the activities of UBC and UBC researchers with China will be collected by the CC. In collaboration with IAR, the Centre for Chinese Research and other units on campus, the CC organizes public events to help the broader community understand China, and also helps coordinate expert advice on China for UBC and the broader community, including government and government agencies.

ACTIVITY

CC coordinates China engagement across the entire university. It maintains a current database on UBC partnerships and collaborations with China. It brings together China expertise from within and outside UBC to advise and assist with the university’s strategy towards China on all levels.

CC also answers to the calls from government and government agencies to advise their China initiatives. It is a window of the university to China, and promotes mutual understanding through sponsoring dialogues and exchanges across the Pacific.