China Studies forum building bridges across the world

The eighth World Forum on China Studies opened on Tuesday in Shanghai, in an effort to reflect on global challenges and foster an informed understanding between China and the rest of the world.

Jointly organized by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality, the two-day forum titled "China and the World: Progressing Together Over 70 Years" gathered 500 scholars and opinion leaders from various fields to study the development of China and the world from political, economic, cultural and social perspectives.

"The conference provides international scholars specializing in China a platform to share their insights, exploring how the country is connected with the world and understand the meaning of its development to the globe," Huang Kunming, head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said at the opening ceremony.

The forum features an opening plenary session, two special panels, six roundtables and a concluding plenary session revolving around topics including promoting Belt and Road Initiative partnerships and new trends in overseas China studies.

The Award for Outstanding Contributions to China Studies was presented for the fifth time to four distinguished scholars.

They are Nicholas Platt, president emeritus of Asia Society in the United States, Hamashita Takeshi, research department head of Japan's largest Asian studies library Toyo Bunko, Kristofer Schipper, member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and Tu Weiming, .

"I am deeply honored to accept this award for contributions to China studies," Platt said. "In choosing me, the Academy is including a diplomatic practitioner and private sector manager among honorees from the academic world. This is welcome recognition those who actually work day-to-day managing a relationship can contribute alongside those who study and analyze it from above."

By the end of 2018, a total of 2,296 Chinese and foreign experts had attended the forum, and nearly 50 percent were overseas guests from more than 90 countries and regions.