Professor Dragana Mitrovic, Ph.D, held a lecture at the Faculty of Security Sciences of the University of Banja Luka themed ‘From the Socialist Modernization to the Chinese Dream – 40 Years Since the Reform and Opening Policy of the People's Republic of China’ on 26 February 2019.
Prior to the lecture, she said that there are great opportunities for cooperation with China and that we should benefit from it.
''I am delighted to be here today and to have the opportunity to talk to students about the great and significant phenomenon of the modern world – the rise of China after 40 years of implementing the reform policy. China has the second economy of the world, it is the first trade power, a country that is very present in our region and a country that is very important for our countries, which is why we need to know and understand it better and learn how to benefit from what the Chinese refer to as a mutual benefit'', said professor Mitrović and expressed hope that this lecture will help students decide to further study about China.
''Chinese market is very special. For those who do not know it well enough, it is a very closed market and it consists of a number of small markets, which even the Chinese provinces find hard to enter, that is, the trade between them is poor. Specifically, small companies from small countries such as ours find it hard to operate in that market, but it is not impossible if one is persistent, dedicated and understands how trade functions in that region and if there is political support'', said Mitrović, who is a full-time professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University in Belgrade and Director of the Institute for Asian Studies.
“There used to be technical-commercial bureaus among all socialist countries, and we abolished them, because we thought that they are outmoded. However, such state support is helpful when cooperating with China and it helps establish branch offices for companies that would be constantly present on the Chinese market and assist individual companies in marketing their goods'', the professor explained. She also added that there are more and more Chinese tourists in our region and that it is something that we should all work on. The professor explained that the Chinese are also interested in establishing cooperation in the area of higher education. She explained that it is now possible for Chinese students to come and study in our country, which has also been enabled by the Confucius Institute.
This lecture was organized by the Confucius Institute and the Faculty of Security Sciences of the University of Banja Luka.
Assistant professor Predrag Ćeranić, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Security Sciences of the University of Banja Luka, said that this organizational unit is open for both local and international experts from all areas, and all for the purpose of educating students in the area of security and world politics
“We do not know enough about China, although the Confucius Institute has been working a lot on educating and informing us and has made significant results since its establishment. The lecture by professor Mitrović resulted from our cooperation with the Confucius Institute, and we continue to work on activities that will benefit us all”, said Dean Ćeranić. He also announced other activities that the Faculty is planning together with the Confucius Institute at the University of Banja Luka.
The lecture was also attended by the Rector of the University of Banja Luka Prof. Radoslav Gajanin, Ph.D, the Assistant to the Minister of Higher Education Radmila Pejic, Ph.D. as well as by others.