s China is becoming increasingly influential on the world stage, foreign-language education and talent cultivation will play a pivotal role in the country's development and social progress, experts said at a conference in Shanghai, organized by the China University Alliance for the Development of Foreign Language and Literature Discipline over the weekend.

During the conference, foreign-language experts pointed out that what the world is currently provided with to learn about China is insufficient, and that there are contrasting views of the country across the world. As such, foreign-language educational institutions need to join hands to help the country build its discourse power systematically, said Li Yansong, president of Shanghai International Studies University.

"The common responsibility of academia is to be strategic in constructing the country's discourse and narrative system in a global context," said Li at the conference, which attracted more than 200 experts from nearly 100 domestic universities.

"Universities teaching foreign languages must give full play to their advantages in language disciplines and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind to improve the ability of telling the world stories of China and of the Communist Party of China," he said.

Empowering students with a mastery in foreign languages is key to SISU's talent cultivation approach, he added.

"We hope that the graduates will perform well in foreign languages and their respective professional fields so that more of them will be able to participate in global governance and global affairs," he said.

Jiang Feng, Party secretary of SISU, said the country's foreign-language education is closely related to the CPC's global vision.

"As we enter a new era, we shall expand the paradigm of foreign-language education in serving the country's strategy," he said.

At Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in Guangzhou, new classes featuring international communication of Chinese cultures will be provided soon, said Shi Youqi, president of the school.

Combining foreign languages, Chinese language and literature, journalism, and Marxist theory, the classes will revolve around people-to-people exchanges between China and the world, and the interpretation of China's development experience to the international community.

"This is our way of strengthening the ability of youngsters to tell China's stories to the world. Combining our students' advantages in foreign languages and cross-cultural communication, we expect that we can turn more beauty from China into the beauty of the world," Shi said.

Yang Dan, president of Beijing Foreign Studies University, said there is still room for the university to improve, although the school already teaches 101 foreign languages used in countries and regions that have diplomatic relations with China.

Of these 101 languages taught at BFSU, Yang explained, only 55 are the official languages used by United Nations member states. In contrast, the University of Languages and Civilizations in France teaches 131 of the languages used by UN member states. The St. Petersburg State University in Russia and Harvard University in the United States respectively teach 124 and 95 of these languages.

"From the perspective of international participation and competition, our foreign-language ability pool is only at a medium level," Yang said.

The China University Alliance for the Development of Foreign Language and Literature Discipline was founded in March 2018 to harness the knowledge of experts and scholars, pursue innovation in discipline development and promote the development of foreign-language education. The alliance, which currently has 215 members, has set up committees for interdisciplinary studies of foreign literature and linguistics, and the development of curriculum and teaching material.

Learn more: More foreign languages needed to tell China's stories