To deepen cooperation between Renmin University of China Law School and top U.S. law schools in legal talent cultivation, academic research exchanges, and disciplinary development, and to establish a bridge for sustained academic exchange in legal education and research between Chinese and American universities, Professor Ding Xiaodong (Vice Dean of RUC Law School), Professor Guo He, Professor Zhang Jiyu, Assistant Professor Sun Jingzhou, Teacher Han Hui, doctoral student He Yue, and other members visited multiple universities in the United States from November 14 to 24, 2025. The delegation visited Columbia Law School, New York University School of Law, Cornell Law School, Harvard Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, among others, and participated in important conferences including the "2025 Annual Conference of the Mingde Forum North America" and the "China-US Intellectual Property Dialogue: Global Governance of Intellectual Property".

Columbia Law School

On November 17, the delegation held talks with Daniel Abebe, Dean of Columbia Law School, and Professor Benjamin L. Liebman, its Associate Dean. During the talks, Vice Dean Ding Xiaodong conveyed the regards of Dean Yang Dong to Dean Daniel Abebe, who expressed his gratitude for the kind gesture.

On November 17, the delegation also held talks with Professor Jane C. Ginsburg of Columbia Law School.

New York University School of Law

On November 16-17, the delegation from Renmin University of China held discussions with Professor Catherine M. Sharkey, Professor Oren Bar-Gill, Professor Rochelle Dreyfuss, and other scholars from New York University School of Law. The talks aimed to promote cooperation between the Law School of Renmin University of China and New York University School of Law in academic exchanges, collaborative research, and high-end lectures.

Cornell Law School

On November 17, the delegation held talks with Professor Frank Pasquale and Professor Matthew D'Amore of Cornell Law School. Professor Frank Pasquale is an authority in the field of technology law and algorithmic governance, and is the author of such classic works as The Black Box Society; Professor Matthew D'Amore serves as the Director of the LLM Program in "Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship" at Cornell Tech. During the talks, the two sides conducted in-depth communication on cooperation formats including joint training of JSD/PhD students, student exchanges, and co-construction of academic seminars. They reached a preliminary consensus on advancing cooperation in the "Law and Technology" field, and planned to leverage the respective resource advantages of both parties to build a compound legal talent training system adapted to the digital era, so as to deepen practical cooperation in legal education between China and the United States.

Harvard Law School, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University

On November 19, the delegation visited Harvard Law School and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and held discussions on cutting-edge topics related to intellectual property law and artificial intelligence. Professor William P. Alford, along with a number of distinguished scholars from the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard, participated in the exchange. They included Professor Larry Lessig, a pioneering scholar in the field of intellectual property and internet governance in the digital age; Professor Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder and director of the Berkman Center; Professor Mark Wu, Co-Director of the Berkman Center and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies; Executive Director Alex Pascal of the Berkman Center; and Lecturer Steven Wang of Harvard Law School. Both sides stated that they look forward to establishing a regular cooperation mechanism with Harvard Law School and various research centers in the fields of intellectual property, digital governance and comparative law research in the future, and jointly contributing wisdom and strength to addressing global challenges.

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

On November 19, the delegation visited the University of Pennsylvania and held talks with Professor Christopher Yoo, Professor Eric Feldman, Professor Jacques deLisle, and Research Fellow Neysun Mahboubi. The two sides discussed China-US cooperative student training programs and shared their respective experiences and challenges in the practical advancement of similar programs. Meanwhile, focusing on the current status and future development of academic exchanges between the two universities, they jointly explored feasible measures such as expanding academic exchange channels, deepening interdisciplinary cooperation, and promoting exchanges among young scholars.

Georgetown University Law Center

On November 21, the delegation went to Georgetown University, visited the O'Neill Center of Georgetown University, and held discussions with Georgetown University Law Center. The delegation first conducted in-depth exchanges with Professor Michele Goodwin of the O'Neill Center on topics such as China-US legal education and talent cultivation. Professor Michele Goodwin also shared stories of her exchanges and cooperation with China, and the delegation warmly invited her and Professor Goodwin Shaffer to teach at Renmin University of China and carry out academic exchanges.

North American Mingde Forum 2025 Annual Conference

On November 15, the delegation attended the North American Mingde Forum 2025 Annual Conference hosted by the North American Alumni Association of Renmin University of China. Professor Wang Yi, Vice President of Renmin University of China, attended the event on behalf of the university to extend congratulations, and Yu Yougen, Education Counselor of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in New York, was present to deliver a speech. Alumni of Renmin University of China and distinguished guests from all walks of life across North America, mainland China and Hong Kong gathered in Manhattan to jointly witness the grand launch of the North American Mingde Forum into its new decade-long journey.

Held discussions with Law School alumni

During the visit to the United States, the delegation also paid a visit to the graduates of  Renmin University of China Law School who were pursuing further studies at New York University. At the discussion, the students shared their personal course selection situations and the challenges they faced in daily life. Teachers and students engaged in in-depth exchanges on topics such as the effective connection between domestic and overseas education, methods of literature reading, and the coursework intensity of domestic programs. Meanwhile, they also discussed practical issues such as academic and life pressures caused by the need to invest more time due to differences between Chinese and foreign legal systems. The students expressed that they were delighted to meet their alma mater's teachers in the United States, and they would strive for academic excellence and contribute to their alma mater and country.