University of International Relations


University of International Relations is a public university, in Beijing, China. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in International Politics, International Economics and trade, Law, English, French, Japanese and Public Administration. It currently offers a total of 13 undergraduate programs, and eight master's degree programs.
UIR was established in 1949 by China's first Premier of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai to train diplomats. It became one of the National Key Universities in 1960, and was among the earliest universities in China to offer master's degrees. In 1983, the school was transformed to a comprehensive university. It was the first foreign study schools in China to make such a transformation.
Its former English name is translated as "Institute of International Relations." It is also colloquially known as "Guoguan".

History

The University of International Relations was founded in 1949 to train foreign affairs cadres for the newly created People's Republic of China. In 1961, the school merged with the Foreign Affairs College.
In 1964, then-Premier Zhou Enlai ordered the creation of colleges and university departments to focus on international affairs. Several government agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China, established their own institutes for the study of international affairs. The University of International Relations in Beijing was formally brought under the control of the Ministry of Public Security in 1965, and was charged with training intelligence agents for the Investigation Department and for Xinhua News Agency.
Like many schools in China, the University of International Relations was shuttered during China's Cultural Revolution and reopened in 1978. It was among the first institutions of higher education authorized by the Chinese government to offer academic degrees in China.
According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and other sources, the university remains closely linked to the Ministry of State Security.

Academics

Undergraduate

The university maintains partnerships and exchanges with Marietta College, University of Massachusetts Boston, Aalborg University, Toulouse 1 University Capitole, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima City University, Ibaraki University, among others.

Controversy

The university's role within the bureaucracy of the People's Republic of China is subject to some debate: Chinese government sources and the university's website maintain that it operates under the Ministry of Education, but other sources contend that the university is affiliated with Chinese intelligence agencies along with Jiangnan Social University, namely through the Ministry of State Security.

Notable alumni