Mariola Moncada in China PHOTO: loaned

Mariola Moncada Durruti, a graduate in History from the University of Navarra, has recently defended her doctoral thesis "The perception of the European integration process in the four historical leaders of the Chinese Communist Party" at Fudan University, Shanghai. The scholar of the School of Philosophy and Letters carried out both the work of research and the defense of her work at the Asian country's home language .

Her analysis of how China's top leadership has viewed Europe from 1949 to the present earned her the highest grade, A cum laude.

"I came here 8 years ago. Since 2005 I have been doing my work from research at department Contemporary History at Fudan University," explains the PhD.

"From the moment I arrived in this country, I was interested in many things: the culture, the history and, above all, I was struck by the impressive development it has undergone in recent years," says Mariola Moncada. "I started the doctorate because when I arrived here I realized how little we in the West know about its contemporary reality and the immense transformation it is undergoing," she adds.

Finally, she affirms that it has been a very enriching experience: "I greatly admire the Chinese people's ability to work, to overcome and sacrifice for the common good, as well as the deep respect they have for their elders and the importance they give to Education".