Scholars awarded for insight on China studies
▶ Chinese civilization enriched through mutual learning with others: Xi
More than 400 global scholars gathered in Shanghai to share their observations and thoughts on China studies, as well as Chinese civilization and Chinese modernization, at the World Conference on China Studies – Shanghai Forum on Friday.
Chinese civilization has a long history and has been enriched and developed through exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations in the world, endowing Chinese modernization with profound cultural heritage, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory letter sent to the forum on Friday.
“Only by tracing the origins of history can we understand the reality of the world, and only by following the cultural foundation can we identify present-day China,” he noted. “It is through the mutual learning of civilizations that common progress can be achieved.”
Xi expressed the hope that experts and scholars from various countries will act as messengers connecting Chinese and foreign civilizations, uphold inclusiveness and openness, continuously promote China studies worldwide, foster mutual exchange of civilizations, and inject intellectual and cultural strength into the flourishing garden of world civilizations.
Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, read Xi’s congratulatory letter and delivered a keynote speech at the forum’s opening ceremony.
The winners of the 2023 Award for Distinguished Contributions to China Studies were announced at the forum. They included Timothy Brook, professor emeritus at Department of History, University of British Columbia, Baik YoungSeo, professor emeritus at Yonsei University, and Kishore Mahbubani, distinguished fellow of the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.
In an acceptance speech he delivered at the forum, Brook described himself as an “outsider” who offers ideas and insights that may help people achieve a more objective and more universal knowledge of China, “and not just of China on its own terms and for itself, but of China as part of the world.”
In an interview with the Global Times ahead of the forum on Thursday, Brook suggested that young international scholars of China studies not only immerse themselves in Chinese culture and language, but also keep a global perspective. “Use the knowledge from where you come, and bring that to bear on the knowledge that you learn about China, and think about how these two sets of knowledge can fit together,” he told the Global Times.
The Friday forum also announced the establishment of the World Association for China Studies (WACS).
It is a non-profit, nongovernmental international social organization voluntarily formed by research institutions, scholars and experts of China studies from various countries and regions, explained Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.