Hopkins-Nanjing Center Celebrates 39th Commencement and Looks to the Future
June 13, 2025
On June 13, 2025, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center celebrated its 39th commencement ceremony, honoring more than 100 graduates from its certificate and master’s programs. Held in person at HNC in Nanjing, China, the event marked the culmination of a year of intensive bilingual study and cross-cultural exchange. It also signaled the beginning of the countdown to HNC’s 40th anniversary celebrations in 2026.
Founded in 1986 as a partnership between Johns Hopkins University and Nanjing University, the HNC is the oldest academic joint venture in modern China. This year’s program upheld its long-standing traditions, including bilingual proceedings and the inclusion of both Chinese and international voices throughout the ceremony.
The event opened with welcoming remarks by the HNC’s co-directors, Professor Li Xiaorong and Professor Adam K. Webb, who expressed gratitude to the many faculty, staff, families, and guests in attendance.
Commencement addresses were delivered by two distinguished speakers. The first speaker was Eric Zheng, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and former commercial officer at the U.S. consulate general in Guangzhou and executive at AIG China. Zheng offered a perspective shaped by his extensive career experience at the intersection of business and public service. Reflecting on the value of international education, he encouraged the graduating students to embrace the unique lessons they learned at HNC and “to be bold, but never arrogant. Be principled, but never rigid. And above all, be bridges—between cultures, between people, between visions of the future.”
Wang Yong, a 1989 alumnus of the HNC certificate program and now a professor at the School of International Studies and director of the Center for American Studies at Peking University, delivered the second address. A prominent scholar of international relations and U.S.-China affairs, Professor Wang shared personal reflections on his time at the HNC and sent off the graduates saying: “These are challenging times for U.S.-China relations, but you are well equipped to help others understand that Americans and Chinese can work together in a cooperative and collaborative way. The ties that bind us together are far greater than those that define our differences.”
Dean James B. Steinberg of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Nanjing University Vice President Lu Yanqing also delivered congratulatory remarks, underscoring the importance of the HNC’s mission and the achievements of the graduating class.
Two student speakers—international student Alexandre Stanley Nazaire and Chinese student Wang Xiangjie—offered remarks on behalf of their classmates. Speaking in their respective target languages, the students reflected on the challenges and camaraderie they shared during their experience at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center.
After issuing the outstanding thesis awards, the ceremony concluded with closing remarks from American Co-Director Adam K. Webb. Following the official program, graduates joined family, faculty, and friends in celebration, taking photos, exchanging memories, and enjoying a celebratory banquet in the HNC cafeteria.
As the Hopkins-Nanjing Center looks ahead to its 40th anniversary in 2026, this year’s commencement served not only as a moment of closure for one class but also as a reaffirmation of the HNC’s enduring role as a bridge, not just between China and the United States but also for the world.
