On May 24th 2017, the establishment ceremony of Sino-German Leibniz Research Center and International Symposium between Leibniz and Chinese Culture were held in Qianfoshan Campus of SDNU. Stefan Weir, Governor of Lower Saxony, Germany, led a delegation to visit our university. Prof. Li Wenchao, Secretary-General of International Leibniz Institute and Director of the Editorial Office of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, together with more than 50 Chinese and foreign scholars from Spain, the United States, Italy, Estonia and Japan attended the symposium. Shang Zhixiao, secretary of the party committee of SDNU, Tang Bo, President of SDNU also attended the ceremony, which was chaired by Zhang Wenxin , vice President of SDNU.

Shang Zhixiao expressed his warm welcome to the guests and introduced the development of SDNU in recent years. He pointed out that Leibniz played a catalytic role in the spread of Confucian Culture, and that researchers of SDNU had a basic realization and accumulation of Leibniz’s research. Besides, he expressed his confidence and expectation of the development of the research center.

Governor Stephan Weil expressed his heartfelt congratulations on the opening of the Sino-German cultural exchange activity. He pointed out that Leibniz’s contribution was significant over the world, which provided Europe with an opportunity to learn about Chinese culture. The development of Sino-German Leibniz Research Center and International Symposium between Leibniz and Chinese Culture was conducive to the establishment of communication points and it was helpful to achieve a higher academic development with mutual learning between the two countries.

Professor Li Wenchao thanked the Sino-German for their cultural nourishment, and stressed the importance of Leibniz and its research value. He also praised the courage of SDNU for hosting a difficult research area like Leibniz while delivering his high expectations to the development of the center.

At the ceremony, Stephan Weil and Tang Bo announced the opening of Leibniz International Research Center together. On the two-day meeting, participants deeply explored many important issues such as the world influence of Leibniz’s thinking, Leibniz’s scientific and technological thoughts, Leibniz and mathematics, and the communication between Leibniz and traditional Chinese culture. They also put forward valuable suggestions on the future research field and development plan of the research center.

The establishment of the Sino-German Leibniz Research Center has a positive effect on promoting level of teaching and research in SDNU and expanding its academic influence both at home and abroad. It has deepened the relations between Shandong Province in China and Lower Saxony in Germany and enriched the cultural connotation of Qilu as well as consolidated the good image of open, civilized and friendly of our province.