From Sept 27 to Oct 1, RUC President Lin Shangli led a delegation to Italy.

On Sept 28, Lin attended the 2025 China–Italy City Civilization Dialogue and delivered a keynote speech in Rome. Experts and scholars from governments, universities, think tanks, and urban governance institutions from both China and Italy gathered for the event. 

In his speech, Lin noted that at this new starting point marking the 55th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between China and Italy, strengthening dialogue and cooperation in cultural heritage preservation and urban civilization development helps consolidate the sustained development of China–Italy relations.

During the visit, Lin met with Raffaele Marchetti, former vice president of LUISS University. Marchetti stated that RUC is a comprehensive strategic partner of LUISS University. He also proposed jointly conducting forward-looking research and exchanges, and co-publishing academic reports on topics such as China–Italy bilateral relations, written collaboratively by scholars from both universities, to elevate their partnership to a new level.

At Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Lin held discussions with President Tiziana Lippiello. Lin stressed that RUC is willing to leverage its disciplinary strengths to provide visiting faculty and students with rich academic and practical resources. Lippiello noted that the two universities have highly complementary strengths and broad prospects for cooperation in areas such as comparative Chinese studies and the integration of AI with China studies. 

RUC has always regarded cooperation with Italy as a key priority in its international partnership strategy. To date, RUC has established partnerships with 14 Italian universities, including the University of Bologna, LUISS University, the University of Padua, and Ca' Foscari University of Venice, carrying out pragmatic and innovative cooperation in faculty and student exchanges, joint talent cultivation, high-level academic dialogue, and mutual learning among civilizations.