Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

A long history and an unbroken educational tradition. The university’s predecessor was Zhongyuan University, established in 1948 by the Central Plains Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, whose First Secretary was Deng Xiaoping. Second Secretary Chen Yi chaired its preparatory committee. During the nationwide restructuring of higher education institutions, the finance and economics school and the political science and law school of Zhongyuan University formed the foundations for integrating high-quality resources in these fields from universities across six provinces in Central and South China, including Henan University, Zhonghua University, Sun Yat-sen University, Hunan University, Guangxi University and Nanchang University. Zhongnan Institute of Finance and Economics and Zhongnan Institute of Political Science and Law were established separately in May 1953. In September 1958, these two institutes, the Zhongnan Cadre School of Political Science and Law and Wuhan University’s Department of Law merged to form Hubei University. In December 1971, Hubei University was renamed Hubei College of Finance and Economics. In January 1978, it became Hubei Institute of Finance and Economics, one of the first universities to resume admitting undergraduate and postgraduate students. In December 1984, Zhongnan Institute of Political Science and Law was re-established on the basis of its Department of Law. In September 1985, Hubei Institute of Finance and Economics was renamed Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics, with Deng Xiaoping personally writing the university’s name in calligraphy. On May 26, 2000, Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics and Zhongnan Institute of Political Science and Law merged to form the new Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. In September 2005 it joined the universities receiving priority development under the national “211 Project,” and in June 2011 it joined those receiving priority development under the national “985 Project Innovation Platform for Advantageous Disciplines.” In October 2012, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance and Hubei Provincial People’s Government signed an agreement to jointly develop the university. In September 2017 and February 2022, it was included in the first and second rounds of the national “Double First-Class” university and discipline development lists.
Integrated education nurtures flourishing talent. The university has always upheld its motto, “Broad Learning and Clear Reasoning, Virtue and Service to Society,” and its educational spirit of “cultivating moral conduct, safeguarding justice, valuing innovation and striving for the highest good.” It carries forward its revolutionary heritage of being “founded by the Party, established for the Party, growing for the country and developing for the people.” It practices the contemporary Zhongnan spirit of “cultivating virtue and talent, reform and innovation, rigor and pragmatism, and an unwavering commitment to first-class excellence,” forming an educational identity built on deep integration of economics, finance, political science and law.
The university has over 21000 full-time undergraduates, over 9000 master’s students, over 1500 doctoral students and over 1000 international student enrollments. It offers 68 undergraduate programs, including 30 national first-class undergraduate program development sites, 55 national first-class undergraduate courses and 3 national model courses integrating ideological and political education. It has 7 first-level disciplines authorized to award doctoral degrees, 18 first-level disciplines authorized to award master’s degrees, 2 professional doctoral degree authorizations, 21 professional master’s degree authorizations and 7 postdoctoral research stations. Since 2000 it has prioritized the development of over 400 integrated professional courses, creating China’s largest integrated course system in economics, law and management. It has received 1 first prize and 6 second prizes in the National Teaching Achievement Awards, and 1 individual has been recognized nationally for outstanding contributions to textbook development. It has received approval for 4 national New Liberal Arts research and reform practice projects and 9 New Engineering research and practice projects. It has 3 national experimental teaching demonstration centers, 1 national virtual simulation experimental teaching center, 2 national virtual teaching and research offices, and 3 of the Ministry of Education’s first training bases for outstanding legal professionals. In the past 10 years, it has won 3 national gold awards and 10 silver awards in the “Internet+,” “Challenge Cup” and “Creating Youth” innovation and entrepreneurship competitions.
A full range of disciplines with distinctive strengths. The university has developed a system centered on economics, law and management, with coordinated development across 11 disciplinary categories, including philosophy, education, literature, history, science, engineering, arts and interdisciplinary studies. It has 4 national key disciplines and 1 national key discipline under cultivation. Law is included in the national “Double First-Class” discipline development list, and its “Plan for Developing the Law and Economics Discipline Cluster” has been approved by the Ministry of Education. As a founding member, the university helped establish the national “Lige Alliance” of universities of political science and law. It also initiated the Alliance for First-Class Discipline Development in Finance and Economics, the International Criminal Justice Alliance and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Intellectual Property Law Alliance, among other discipline development alliances with strong professional identities.
Distinguished teachers and outstanding scholars. The university has over 2500 faculty and staff, including over 1500 full-time teachers. Its teachers include over 900 professors and associate professors and over 370 doctoral supervisors. Its personnel have received 14 national leading-talent selections and 21 national young-talent selections. A total of 91 experts have been approved for special government allowances from the State Council. It currently has 18 members of the Ministry of Education’s teaching advisory committees or national professional degree postgraduate education steering committees; 12 people recognized as national model teachers, outstanding teachers, outstanding education workers, distinguished university teachers, outstanding workers in the national education system, or women role models for achievement in the national education system; 3 national Huang Danian-style teaching teams; 1 nationally distinguished young legal scholar; 4 renowned Jingchu social science scholars; 13 Hubei distinguished teachers or leaders of distinguished-teacher studios; and 2 Chutian distinguished teachers.
Research innovation and outstanding results. In recent years, the number of National Social Science Fund projects approved for the university has consistently ranked among the leading universities nationwide and first among universities specializing in finance, economics, political science and law. Over the past 10 years, it has undertaken and completed over 1800 key national, provincial and ministerial research projects, producing over 15000 research outputs and over 2000 think-tank and social service outputs. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan, it has won 18 Ministry of Education Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement Awards for Higher Education Institutions in humanities and social sciences and received 2 recognitions for “Major Achievements in University Scientific and Technological Innovation over 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up.” Studies in Law and Business has consistently ranked among the leading core law journals and was selected among the national “Top 100 Newspapers and Periodicals” and the National Center for Philosophy and Social Sciences Documentation’s “Most Popular Chinese Journals, 2016—2025.” The Journal of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law has received the titles “Authoritative Social Science Journal of Chinese Universities” and “Excellent Academic Journal with International Influence in China.”
Serving national priorities and society. The university actively addresses major national strategic needs and has led or participated in drafting or revising over 40 national laws. Through productive interaction with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, State Taxation Administration, National Bureau of Statistics, China National Intellectual Property Administration and Development Research Center of the State Council, it has produced leading policy advice in fiscal reform, rule of law, financial innovation, intellectual property protection and social governance. It currently has 1 Ministry of Education key research base in humanities and social sciences, 5 Ministry of Education university discipline innovation and talent introduction bases, and 1 national experimental base for intelligent social governance.
Open education and collaborative development. The university continuously improves its internationalization and has established cooperation and exchange relationships with over 100 universities and research institutions in more than 20 countries and regions. It was approved for the Ministry of Education’s first “Innovation and Practice Project for Training High-Level International Talent” and “Collaborative Innovation Training Base for Foreign-Related Rule-of-Law Talent (Cultivation),” the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security’s national key talent introduction projects under the “High-End Foreign Expert Introduction Program” and “Foreign Young Talent Program,” and the China Scholarship Council’s “Innovative Talent International Cooperation Training Program,” “International Organization Reserve Talent Program” and “Country and Regional Studies Talent Support Program.” It was among the first national pilot universities for the “Overseas Study Program for University Faculty Working with International Organizations.” It jointly established a School of Law and Economics with Sapienza University of Rome in Italy and a School of Artificial Intelligence and Data Engineering with City University of Macau, continually promoting interdisciplinary integration. It hosted the China-Italy University Presidents’ Dialogue, whose delegates were jointly received by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian President Sergio Mattarella. It has established Serbian, Austrian and Argentinian branches of its Institute of Income Distribution and Modern Public Finance at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and the National University of Quilmes in Argentina, and jointly established a China-Korea Research Center for Convergent Innovation in Future Visual Content with Dongseo University in South Korea. It strongly supports international research cooperation by faculty, participating in the European Research Council’s international “Scriptores iuris Romani” project and legislative research on UNIDROIT’s Model Law on Factoring. Several professors serve as consulting experts for Ministry of Finance World Bank loan projects and as consultants or staff at international organizations including the United Nations Environment Programme and UNIDROIT. It co-organizes summer schools with the World Intellectual Property Organization and UNIDROIT, and several students have completed internships at international organizations. A total of 9 courses have been recognized as national or provincial branded courses for international students in China.
Beautiful surroundings and a rich cultural atmosphere. The university has two campuses: Nanhu Campus beside scenic Nanhu Lake, and Shouyi Campus beneath the historic Yellow Crane Tower. It covers over 2800 mu and has over 1.3 million square meters of buildings. The library holds over 3.57 million printed books, 5.2 million e-books, 3.91 million electronic journal volumes, and 69 Chinese and foreign academic literature resource databases with 586 sub-databases. Distinctive cultural exhibition venues include a museum of monetary and financial history and a museum of Chinese accounting history. Its sports grounds served as the main venue and competition site of the 4th National University Games and as a venue for China’s National Football League Division A. It works to develop signature extracurricular campus activities in academic research, innovation and entrepreneurship, humanities and arts, and public-interest volunteering.
Looking ahead, the university will continue to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fulfill its fundamental task of fostering virtue and educating people, and remain true to its original purpose of educating people for the Party and cultivating talent for the country. With determination and courage, it will accelerate the development of a world-class university distinguished by deep integration of economics, finance, political science and law, using high-quality development to better serve the building of a strong education system and Chinese modernization!