Established in 1850, the University of Sydney is Australia's first university and has a long history of links to China. Research and collaboration with China has resulted in pioneering applications across many fields, which includes groundbreaking joint research now tackling global challenges in health and medicine, environment protection and sustainable development. The University is home to more than 12,000 students from China, with around 50,000 alumni living in China. Two-way exchange of students and researchers is fundamental to the University's internationalisation agenda.

The University Centre in China was established in 2016 to connect the University of Sydney, its researchers, and its students to China by providing a platform to create innovation and knowledge networks, identify emerging opportunities and strengthen research collaboration and mobility.