Izmail State University of Humanities hosted a meeting of the scientific seminar «Prospects for the development of Ukrainian-Chinese relations: economics and education (regional aspect)», during which two sections were organized.
The main speaker during the meeting of the first section was the director of the center for regional development of the Ukrainian Danube Region, candidate of Geographical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Business and Tourism Management of the University Vyacheslav Todorov. He introduced the participants to the peculiarities of accelerated economic growth and the transformation of the People’s Republic of China into the second economy of the world, as well as the peculiarities of its domestic and foreign policy. He focused on the peculiarities of the country’s scientific and technological progress, primarily due to the effective development of Free Economic Zones and the prospects for restoring the «Great Silk Road». Regarding the prospects for the implementation of the latest Logistics Project «East – West», participants and experts of the scientific seminar noted that the south of the Odessa region has a favorable geographical location, because it is located at the intersection of the main (southern) historical route of the territories of modern countries – India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Turkey and European countries, and the northern route – through the territory of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. Exit to the Trans-European artery – the Danube River provides communication with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and determines the strategic importance of this region as a priority link in the system of European transport corridors. The south-western part of the Odessa region (between the Danube and Dniester Rivers) is unique, one of the most multiethnic regions in Europe.
Until the beginning of 2022, it was a peripheral border region, and now it has become one of the main centers of export-import operations in Ukraine. This is mainly an agricultural region with low added value and labour intensity of local products. The local population is mainly characterized by the presence of highly qualified competitive personnel and a friendly attitude towards representatives of other nations. The presence of seaports, airports, railways and appropriate infrastructure that needs to be upgraded creates the prerequisites for turning this strategically important region into a multimodal logistics hub. It will promote the development of alternative routes and logistics routes from Asia to Europe. Under these conditions, the issue of systematic investment attraction for the sustainable development of the Ukrainian Danube Region is urgent. The participants of the scientific seminar justified the prospects for creating a large logistics hub on the territory of the Ukrainian Danube Region for the effective exchange of goods and services between, in particular, China and the countries of the European Union.
The participants of the seminar noted that at the initiative of honorary professor of Izmail State University of Humanities, ex-head of the Odessa regional state administration Serhiy Hrynevetsky, the approval and implementation of the program of integrated development of the Ukrainian Danube Region was initiated, the strategy of which is particularly relevant at the present stage of sustainable development of this region. Sergey Grinevetsky at the beginning of 2000 years contributed to the introduction of Free Economic Zones in the Odessa region, using the progressive experience of models of sustainable socio-economic development of the provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, whose successful leader at one time was the well-known Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The participants of the scientific seminar raised the issue of the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on Chinese politics. As the well-known expert Dmitry Yefremov noted, China is not the beneficiary of this war, because the demand for security is increasing in the world, and not just for economic development, on which the Chinese initiative «One Belt, One Road» is based.
During the meeting of the second section, the rector of Izmail State University of Humanities, professor Yaroslav Kichuk, focused on the prospects of Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation in the field of education and science. He noted that in the People’s Republic of China, which is now becoming one of the technological leaders in the world, innovative technologies of socio-humanitarian, natural and technical education are becoming particularly relevant. This creates favorable conditions, in particular, for the development of Ukrainian-Chinese relations in the field of education and science, technology transfer between partner organizations of Ukraine and China.
In this key aspect, the university administration of Izmail State University of Humanities takes the initiative to organize joint professional training with Chinese universities of competitive specialists in public administration, international law, trade, economic security, customs and logistics activities, applied mathematics, computer modeling, cybersecurity, etc. Professor Yaroslav Kichuk informed the participants of the seminar about the creation of the Association of Azov-Black Sea Universities, which united 8 higher education institutions from 5 regions of the southern and south-eastern regions of Ukraine and has a strong potential for cooperation with Chinese universities. The Association of Azov-Black Sea Universities includes: State Higher Educational Institution «Priazovsky State Technical University», Izmail State University of Humanities, Mariupol State University, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Melitopol State Pedagogical University, National University «Zaporizhia Polytechnic», Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, Odesa National University of Technology, Kherson National Technical University.
Valentina Nidelchu, a specialist in working with foreign citizens, noted the intellectual initiative and responsible attitude to the educational and scientific process of graduate students from the People’s Republic of China who are successfully studying at Izmail State University of Humanities.
It was also noted that several cultural and artistic initiatives of the Confucius Institute and the embassy of the people’s Republic of China in Ukraine were implemented in Izmail on the basis of the University. The Chinese partners are also interested in further training their applicants for higher education in the cultural and artistic sphere at Izmail State University of Humanities and its Ukrainian partner universities.
The head of the Career Guidance Center of the University, Associate Professor Ivan Tatarinov, noted the prospects of opening new educational and professional programs at the University for modern training of specialists in agricultural technologies and biotechnologies, alternative energy sources, ecology, innovative development of industry and infrastructure restoration. It is for this purpose that the university administration of Izmail State University for the humanities, together with Chinese partners, initiated an official visit to the Universities of the People’s Republic of China at the end of November to discuss the prospects for implementing joint projects.
Irina Saraeva, coordinator of the ISUH Project Office
