A leading Chinese university has given a Russian banker sanctioned by the United States a prestigious honorary academic title, soon after they signed a partnership agreement on innovative development.
German (also known as Herman) Gref, CEO and chairman of Russia’s Sberbank, has been given the title of “distinguished visiting professor” by Tsinghua University, according to Russian state news agency Ria on Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Gref was part of the delegation accompanying Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing for a two-day state visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that concluded on Wednesday.
The title is awarded to those who have made “exceptional contributions” to economics, technology, public administration and society, Ria reported, calling it a rare and “highly valued” distinction.
Gref was awarded the title for his contributions to technology transformation and the development of artificial intelligence in Russia and internationally.
In 2023, Sberbank, also known as Sber, unveiled a proprietary neural network model called Gigachat. It has since unveiled a series of AI assistants and tools based on the model.
On Tuesday, Gref said that while Chinese chips were “not yet” used to power Gigachat, he hoped they would “gradually” be able to use them, according to a report by Russian state news agency Tass.
In 2022, Gref was among a list of Russian entities and individuals – including dozens of defence companies and hundreds of members of the country’s parliament – sanctioned by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
According to a March 2022 statement, the department issued the sanction to impose “severe costs” on Russia for the war against Ukraine by “designating key enablers of the invasion”.
Gref was a “close Putin associate” and has been an adviser to the Russian president since the 1990s, it added, with the banking executive having also served as Russia’s minister of economic development and trade from 2000 to 2007.
Gref, who has led Sber since 2007, is not the only sanctioned Russian citizen to be honoured by the leading Chinese university.
In 2019, Xi presented Putin with an honorary doctorate from Tsinghua, the Chinese leader’s alma mater, according to China’s foreign ministry.
That same year, Putin presented Xi with an honorary doctorate from Saint Petersburg State University, the Russian leader’s alma mater.
The South China Morning Post has reached out to Tsinghua for comment on Gref’s appointment and did not immediately receive a response.
In September last year, Gref and Tsinghua University President Li Luming signed an innovative development cooperation agreement during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
Sberbank said the partnership would advance Russia and China’s mutual interests in scientific and technological cooperation, including joint research and academic exchanges.
Gref also said the partnership would “open a new chapter in the evolution of hi-tech sectors in Russia and China”.
“Cooperation with Tsinghua University is an important step towards developing innovations that will serve the interests of the entire global community,” Gref said, according to a Sberbank statement in September.
At the Xi-Putin summit on Wednesday, more than 40 agreements were signed, including one between Tsinghua and Saint Petersburg State University establishing a Russian-Chinese Institute of Innovative Research.
The institute aims to build an international innovation platform that integrates research, talent cultivation and industrial transformation, according to Tsinghua. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
