In the early 1990s, the Chinese government put forward the policy of "co-construction, adjustment, cooperation and merger" in higher education, and adjusted the management system and structural layout of higher education. Under this circumstance, Academician Zhu Zuxiang, President of Zhejiang Agricultural University, and Professor Wang Qidong, Vice President of Zhejiang University, put forward a proposal to reorganize four previously separated universities and form a new Zhejiang University at the 1996 National People's Congress, which was supported by the central leadership, the Ministry of Education and the Zhejiang provincial government. However, the four major mergers involve many interest adjustments.
On September 15, New Zhejiang University was formally established. In just half a year, the adjustment and integration of the administrative institutions of the original four schools were completed. Within one year, the discipline adjustment was completed. During this period, a considerable number of universities merged and there were many social disputes. However, the merger of four colleges and universities in Zhejiang is generally regarded as a success by all walks of life.
Two years after the merger of New Zhejiang University, the school has made great progress. The Ministry of Education once issued a document on the topic of "New Zhejiang University has been established for two years and made new progress in various undertakings".