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China’s resort island Hainan to host new campus of top Russian technical university

  • The Chinese campus of the National Research University Moscow Power Engineering Institute will be situated in Hainan province’s Wenchang county
  • Hainan is trying to boost its education sector by wooing prestigious foreign universities with a focus on science, technology, agriculture or medicine

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Hainan, a southern tropical island in China, will host a new campus of the National Research University Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Photo: Getty Images
Iris Dengin Shenzhen

A major Russian technical university is building a 55-hectare (137-acre) campus on the tropical island of Hainan, as the Chinese free-trade zone opens its door to foreign institutions.

The Chinese campus of the National Research University Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI) will be located in Hainan’s Wenchang county, a coastal tourist spot and home to a space station, according to a statement by the campus designer China Academy of Building Research (CABR) last week.

Hainan Daily, a local newspaper, reported in March that the province had struck an agreement with MPEI to set up a local campus.

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The move comes amid Hainan’s push to boost its education sector by luring prestigious foreign universities with a focus on science, technology, agriculture or medicine, as well as vocational schools, to set up operations in the free-trade port.

The provincial education department is currently pursuing similar deals with Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences in Germany and École hôtelière de Lausanne, a hospitality management school in Switzerland.

Hainan’s attempt to woo overseas institutions, as part of its free-trade arrangement, stands as an exception in China, where most local governments are trying to reduce foreign influence in the education sector.

MPEI’s Hainan campus also signals the deepening bond between Russia and China amid rising tensions with the US.

Founded in 1930, MPEI is known for its power engineering research. One of its alumni was the late former Chinese Premier Li Peng, who was sent to study at the university from 1948 to 1955 during the Soviet era.

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