Conference spotlights interest in China

Delegates recognize nation's civilization and modernization

China's civilization and path to modernization are staples of global development, according to officials and delegates at the Nov 23-24 World Conference on China Studies. Shanghai Forum.

As China constantly deepens its exchanges and cooperation with other nations, Chen Jining, Party secretary of Shanghai, said the city provides an important window for the world to learn about the country's high-quality development, people's participation in city construction and civilization exchanges. Chen said efforts will continue to deepen high-level reform and accelerate construction of a city that "belongs to the people, serves the people, and achieves the people's aspirations."

"Shanghai will continuously strengthen its human and cultural exchanges and integration with countries all over the world, and strive to combine historical heritage with modern trends and showcase its international style while respecting a unique Eastern charm," he added.

With the theme of "Chinese Civilization and China's Path — A Global Perspective", the conference attracted more than 400 experts, scholars and official representatives from about 60 countries and regions to share their insights on several topics, including politics, economy, culture, social progress and international relations.

Today, China's achievements have gained worldwide attention, and the study of China in Africa is continuously growing and expanding. Ethiopia is one of the important regions where many scholars researching Chinese studies have emerged, Hailemariam Desalegn, former prime minister of Ethiopia, told delegates in his conference address.

China and Ethiopia share a long history of communication. Now the two countries are carrying out in-depth cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.

Moeketsi Majoro, former prime minister of Lesotho, said the conference was "a gala for sharing knowledge and a bridge to connect cultures, promote cooperation and facilitate the dissemination of information, working toward a more harmonious world".

"We recognize that it is critical to fully understand China, from the ancient wisdom embodied by Confucius, to the country's remarkable rise as an economic powerhouse and technological innovator and today's role as a major player in international affairs," Majoro said.

Former Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase recalled his previous visits and interactions with China during his speech. He said today's China is striving to achieve modern innovations based on its traditional culture, which can provide valuable references for Romania.

China is making important contributions to the world's prosperity, and the best example is the BRI, said Nastase. "I would like to express my highest respect to the Chinese people and thank them for sharing their civilization with countries all over the world."

Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer, professor emeritus for East Asian Literature and Culture at the University of Goettingen in Germany, said Confucian philosophy, characterized by respect for tradition and openness to innovation, has become the driving force for China to embark on "a new Long March" toward modernization. He called for Europe to conduct mutual learning with China.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiping, a professor at Beijing Language and Culture University, noted the rapid development of China studies overseas indicates that interest in Chinese knowledge, thought and civilization has become a global phenomenon. "With China's remarkable achievements on the path to modernization, the world has intensified its research on China, which highlights the global influence of the Chinese path to modernization," Zhang said.

During the conference, which provided an excellent platform for dialogue between the country's academic communities and overseas China research scholars, Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, announced the establishment of the World Association for China Studies.

The association is a non-profit, non-governmental and international social organization voluntarily composed of China studies research institutions, scholars and experts from across the globe. It aims to promote exchanges and cooperation in the field of China studies, enhance communication and dialogue between China and the world, promote common development and prosperity and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

"With the joint participation and efforts of everyone, through various forms of exchange and cooperation such as collaborative research, academic conferences, personnel exchanges, results dissemination and sharing, the association will definitely become an academic home for experts and scholars from various countries to get to know each other and build and share together, fulfilling its academic mission of promoting the prosperous development of China studies," Gao said.

Four parallel forums were held in conjunction with the conference, focusing on the evolution of Chinese civilization, exploration of China's path to modernization, modern Chinese civilization under a comparative perspective and the progress of China studies, and experts were invited to discuss Chinese culture and civilization to facilitate deeper understanding of the country's opening-up.

World China studies is a form of academic research based on Sinology and China studies. The conference was a rebranding of the World China Studies Forum launched by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences in 2004.