From November 22 to 24, 2024, the School of Foreign Languages at Southeast University (SEU) held an international symposium titled “2024 International Symposium on Area Studies: Paradigms, Perspectives, and Practices”. The hybrid event brought together nearly 100 experts from more than 30 institutions worldwide, including the University of Tokyo, Moscow State University, and Peking University. Xing Jihong, Deputy Secretary of the SEU Party Committee, attended the opening ceremony.

Participants discussed key issues including the transformation of foreign language disciplines, the development of Country and Regional Studies as an interdisciplinary field, theoretical and methodological innovation, and new models for talent cultivation.

The symposium featured keynote speeches and thematic discussions on topics such as Asia-Pacific regional studies, overseas Sinology and the global dissemination of Chinese culture, and the development of think tanks. The symposium also reviewed think tank development experiences in China, Europe, and Japan, offering recommendations for balancing fundamental and policy-oriented research.

Notable participants included Xu Jun, Senior Professor of Humanities at Zhejiang University, and Zhai Kun, Professor at Peking University and member of the Country and Regional Studies Discipline Appraisal Group under the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council.

Text: Zhong Juan, Yu Qihe, Li Jiaju, Zhang Tingting

Photos: Wang Yining, Zhang Songtao

Translated: Li Jiaju

Proofreading: Ke Ying, Frank