A photograph exhibition named “Friendship, Ethics and Business” was held at the World Trade Center Association Pavilion of the Shanghai Expo 2010 from the 14th to the 19th August 2010 and had its grand opening on the morning of August 14th.

This exhibition was hosted by the Center for International Business Ethics (CIBE) of the University of International Business and Economics. Most of the works come from an album named Opening the Door to China: Remembering Matteo Ricci S.J. (1610-2-10) with Symbols of Friendship. Mr. Magister Klaus Pichler, an Austrian photographer, took photos from 2005 to 2010 in Beijing and Hebei Province. These photos record the daily life of Chinese people from a unique angle, which reflects the deep affection cherished by a foreigner towards China. In this exhibition, the visitors will get the opportunity to follow the photographer’s camera and experience the integration of the Chinese and Western cultures and take a journey of friendship.

Guests coming from CIBE, the Word Trade Center Association and Cuba Pavilion attended the opening ceremony where the General Secretary of CIBE Dr. Stephan Rothlin and the Vice director of CIBE Prof. Yang Hengda gave opening speeches. Dr. Rothlin noted that the year 2010 was the 400th anniversary of Italian commissioner Matteo Ricci’s Death and as a tie to connect the Sino-Western cultural exchange, Matteo Ricci was always considered as a real friend of the Chinese people; and the exchange based on the bridge of friendship Matteo Ricci built over 400 years ago is still going on. Many other friends of the Chinese coming from different parts of the world have come to this mysterious land for the World Expo, but only through this strong link of friendship will any business become successful in China. Through the commitment of friends based on shared values of trust, true headway may be made in the diminishing of corruption, improvement of working conditions, and lowering carbon initiatives.   

This exhibition also showed us part of the academic fruits of CIBE like JIBE and the ethics series of Peking University Press. During the exhibition, Dr. Rothlin and Prof. Yang were interviewed by the Forbes magazine, Shanghai. They introduced to Forbes the CIBE’s ethical values and social projects which strive on the journey of friendship and cooperation between Chinese and foreign friends. 

Strongly supported by Ms. Wu Shuqing, the Vice President of WTCA, this exhibition was highly praised by visitors and dramatically extended the influence of CIBE thanks to the platform of Shanghai EXPO.