ISU held the Annual Academic Conference on Area Studies of Chinese Universities from December 29^th to 30^th, 2019, which is reported the first of its kind since the Ministry of Education (MOE) promoted the discipline in 2011. Experts, scholars and administrators of more than 400 national and regional research centers from 158 universities across the country participated in the conference. The opening ceremony was presided by SISU President Li Yansong.

Liu Jin, director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges and the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs Office of the MOE, emphasized in her address to the conference that area studies will be a new frontier for China’s educational institutes to reach out to the world in the new era. Universities’ efforts in this discipline will evidence of not only the performance of the five major responsibilities of universities, i.e. talent training, research, social service, cultural inheritance and innovation, and international exchange and cooperation, but also the answering of the calling to serve national strategies, improve themselves, adapt according to the changes of the world and strengthen mutual learning and communication with their international counterparts. Also universities should have a stronger sense of mission and responsibility, sustain research bodies, develop unique strengths, steer clear of low-level repetition, and complementary collaboration, and jointly build a bigger platform for resource sharing.

Jiang Feng, SISU council chair, spoke at the opening ceremony, stressing that SISU, upholding the motto of “Integrity, Vision and Academic Excellence”, is an internationally recognized academic institution with distinctive multidisciplinary and multicultural strengths, and has long been committed to the cultivation of all-rounded talents who will become innovative professionals and future global leaders. Jiang briefed the attendees on the school’s achievements in serving the country, theoretical and applied research and interdisciplinary development.

Professor Feng Shaolei, director of the Center for Russian Studies at the East China Normal University, Professor Yang Jiemian, president of Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies, and Wang Yajie, council chair of Northwest University, also spoke at the opening ceremony

Heated discussions on political service, disciplinary development, academic communication and talent cultivation were held on December 29.

Also as part of the conference, Liu Yuqin, former Chinese ambassador to Cuba, Chile and Ecuador, Huo Yuzhen, special representative for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, and former Chinese ambassador to Czech Republic and Romania, and Gong Xiaosheng, former Chinese special envoy on middle east affairs, had a discussion on area studies and popular issues on December 30.

The article is translated by Zhang Zhaoyu and Wang Zhenyi, and proofread by Wang Bo, members of the Translation Association of the School of English Studies (SESTA) at Shanghai International Studies University. For use of the content, please contact: ses_translators@163.com.