In keeping with policies and the demands of times, the Law School of Wenzhou University have begun to plan to apply for the major of “International Economic and Trade Rules” since 2020. After two years of preparation, Wenzhou University was successfully approved by the Ministry of Education, which made it the first university in Zhejiang Province to set up this major.

The Law School is one of the oldest colleges in Wenzhou University. The major of Law is a special major of the “12th Five Year Plan” and “13th Five Year Plan” in Zhejiang Province, and a first-class major in Zhejiang Province. The discipline of Law is the first-class discipline in Zhejiang Province, which not only has provincial excellent teaching team, provincial quality courses and municipal quality courses, but also has set up a first-class master’s degree of law program and master’s degree of law program, and 7 research institutes such as Wenzhou Key Research Base of Philosophy and Social Sciences — “Regional Legal Research Center”.

The major of International Economic Law began to recruit international students in 2016 and master’s students in 2020. Miao Xinhao, director of the major of International Economic and Trade Rules, said, “At its peak, the number of international students in the university was nearly 90, which is an important prerequisite for the establishment of the major of International Economic and Trade Rules.” Taking advantage of the opportunity of recruiting international students, in 2019, the Law School of Wenzhou University established an international legal system, which is rarely seen among comprehensive universities in China.

The school now has more than 50 faculty members, including a group of well-known domestic scholars, some of whom winner of the National Ten Outstanding Yong-and-Mid Age Jurists, provincial young and middle-aged academic pacemaker, and provincial and municipal famous teachers. Under the guidance and organization of excellent teachers, students often make their mark in international legal competitions, such as CIETAC CUP International Commercial Arbitration Debate Competition, International Simulated Investment Arbitration Debate Competition, etc. In 2021, the team of Wenzhou University stood out among a number of well-known universities and won the national third prize in the International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition.

With the international legal system as the main body, the school has established a team of teachers of international economic and trade rules with strong teaching ability and high scientific research level. All the teachers are law doctors graduated from first-class universities at home and abroad. Further more, the college will integrate the teachers from the major of International Economics and Trade in Business School and the major of Translation in the School of Foreign Studies to provide interdisciplinary teaching for students of this major. 

During the preparation of the major of International Economic and Trade Rules, experts and professors led by Miao Xinhao conducted extensive research and investigation, deeply understood and learned the experience of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics and other universities in building international economic and trade rules, and established cooperation agreements with Wuchan Zhongda International Trade Group Co., Ltd., one of the world’s top 500 enterprises. Previously, the college has carried out a large number of national, provincial, municipal and university local cooperation projects, including the establishment of the AI + Judicial Reform Applied Research base cooperated with Shanghai High People’s Court, Wenzhou Local Legislation Research Institute with Standing Committee of Wenzhou Municipal People’s Congress, and The Belt and Road Initiative Wenzhou Business International Arbitration Court with Wenzhou Arbitration Commission.

On this basis, to build a practical base for the major of International Economic and Trade Rules, the school has signed a cooperation agreement with Wenzhou Council for the Promotion of International Trade. Miao Xinhao, the director of the major, told the reporter that next, the school will connect with more foreign trade enterprises in the future. “Besides Wenzhou, we will also build internship platforms in other regions of the province, such as Hangzhou and Ningbo, including Ningbo Maritime Court, so that students can get the opportunity to practice themselves. Meanwhile, we are also planning to expand the sino-foreign joint training model, and international exchange students programs and overseas study tours.”

The major of International Economic and Trade Rules of Wenzhou University started to recruit students this year. Director Miao Xinhao said, “Through elite teaching of small classes, we hope that all the students we have trained are first-class talents in foreign-related business and trade law.”