Hundreds of distinguished scholars gathered at Peking University on Oct 29, celebrating the inauguration of the World Ethics Institute at Peking University.

The institute will be affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies at Peking University. KS Foundations from Germany and Sany Heavy Industry from China will donate 1 million euros ($1.3 million) each year to the institute, aiming to support research in world ethics.

“Many scholars believe that new interpretations of the spiritual traditions of ancient China, especially Confucianism, greatly inspired the French Enlightenment philosophers,” said Zhou Qifeng, president of Peking University, during the opening ceremony, adding his hope that the institute will contribute to the promotion of traditional Chinese thought in the context of globalization.

Hans Kung, president of the Foundation for a Global Ethic at the University of Tubingen and Justin Lin, former chief economist and senior vice-president of the World Bank, also a professor at Peking University, gave speeches on the development of the institute, discussing the importance of world ethics in society.

Tu Weiming, founding director of the Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, said during the inauguration that the institute will be a center to promote research on world business ethics, also involving Chinese culture in world ethics research.