Rector Lenar Safin meets with Dongfang City officials in Hainan
The New Year at Kazan Federal University began with a working visit by Rector Lenar Safin to the People’s Republic of China.
In particular, he met Mr. Li Aihua, Secretary of the Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China of the city of Dongfang.
This meeting was a logical continuation of the cooperation that has developed between the university and the municipality. In August 2025, during a visit by a Chinese delegation to Kazan University, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding.
The return visit was aimed at implementing the agreements already reached and further advancing the partnership. During the discussion, Lenar Safin emphasized that for KFU, as for the whole of the Republlic of Tatarstan, developing strategic cooperation with China is one of the key priorities.
“The signing of the Memorandum became a landmark event in the development of the partnership between KFU and the city of Dongfang, opening new prospects for bilateral cooperation. We are ready to implement comprehensive projects in education and strengthen cultural ties between our peoples,” the Rector stated.
Li Aihua, in turn, expressed admiration for Kazan University, which, according to the Secretary, is a globally recognized university with centuries of history and a well-developed center of research and education in Russia, with strong academic potential and significant international influence. “We are ready, together with your university, to explore opportunities for cooperation in integrating science, education, and industry, as well as in training specialists in such important areas for us as logistics, petrochemistry, economics, linguistics, and software engineering,” he noted.
Li Aihua also added that the city of Dongfang is an important regional center in the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port, whose policy advantages make it possible to actively develop innovative models of interaction with leading global scientific and educational organizations. In this regard, he put forward a proposal to establish a KFU branch on the territory of Hainan Province, promising comprehensive support for this project.
Lenar Safin expressed interest in the proposal, confirming that opening overseas branches is within the university’s sphere of interest. In addition, KFU already has successful experience in establishing such branches in Uzbekistan and Egypt. However, in the Rector’s opinion, the issue requires careful analysis and elaboration of organizational, financial, and legal aspects.
The Dongfang City Development Corporation proposed, as a first step, to visit a number of sites for possible construction and to meet with key investors who could finance the project.
In general, China’s legislation does not allow the opening of foreign university branches, permitting only joint educational projects in the form of separate new universities, institutes, or programs at Chinese universities. However, in some cases, opening branches of foreign universities is possible; for example, this option is provided by Hainan Province, which has been declared a free trade zone and port.
Since April 2018, the Hainan administration has registered 36 branches of major Chinese and foreign universities. The provincial government creates attractive conditions for investors and develops advanced research infrastructure. According to a government plan, by 2050 this region will become a unique international cluster with an advanced economy, hosting campuses of leading universities, advanced laboratories, and headquarters of global corporations.
Kazan Federal University has long developed partnerships with educational institutions in the People’s Republic of China. Today, about 2,000 students from China study at the university, and academic exchange programs allow young people from both countries to gain unique international experience. In addition, KFU has more than 70 partnership agreements with the Chinese side, including leading universities, research centers, and companies.
Therefore, the proposal to establish a university branch in China became a natural step in this direction, and the signed memorandum with the People’s Government of Dongfang opens broad opportunities for the implementation of the project.