Founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, a Chinese patriotic expatriate businessman in Singapore, the university has been perennially regarded as one of the top academic institutions in Southern China, with strengths in mathematics, chemistry, oceanography, economics, management, law, communication and political science.

[4] In 1938, at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the university was temporarily relocated to Changting in western Fujian to escape Japanese invasion of Chinese coastal regions.

[9] Xiamen University has maintained a global presence since its creation in 1921, attracting students from overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.

The institution established an "Overseas Correspondence Courses" program in 1956 and accepted its first foreign students in 1981.

Known as "XMU Malaysia," the institution has been described as "historic" and is notable as the "first ever large-scale international branch" of a Chinese university.

The delegation's objective was to discuss the institutions' strategies for commercializing research findings, fostering university-industry collaboration, and encouraging international students to learn about local language and culture.

[15] On November 18, 2016, Xiamen University and Cardiff University in Wales, United Kingdom initiated a "strategic partnership" including a program for co-supervision of doctoral students, and £1.2 million in seed funding for "collaborative research projects" to benefit the economy of Wales.

[20] The main campus of XMU is located in Siming District on Xiamen island, covering an area of 167 hectares.

[21] The scope and level of its campus high-speed information network is rated first among all universities in China and has become one of the main nodes of CERNET2.

XMUM aspires to become a university with a distinct global outlook, featuring first-class teaching and research, and embracing cultural diversity.

[27] Xiamen University has been consistently regarded as one of the top academic institutions in Southern China, with strengths in economics and management, fine arts, law, chemistry, journalism, communication, mathematics and political science.