Sinologists bring new perspectives and offer advice

Sinologists from 24 countries took a close look at China's development at a recent five-day symposium in Beijing.

The event, which featured 28 Sinologists and 11 Chinese scholars, was an annual symposium jointly organized by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The annual event, which has been held since 2013, is a platform for academic exchanges and cooperation among overseas and domestic experts.

Speaking at the symposium, Xie Jinying, the director of the bureau for external cultural relations of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said: "As this year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up policy, I hope the Sinologists can offer advice from diverse perspectives.

"We want to push forward communication and collaboration between the academic institutes in China and Sinologists from other countries."

The sessions at the event covered topics like prospects for international cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative.

Speaking at the event, Ole Doering, a professor at the Free University of Berlin, said that Europe and Asia should unite to build proper conditions for globalization by introducing a polycentric framework featuring cultural diversity.

"We can liberate the resources of creative humanism, as powerful narratives about truth, beauty and goodness beyond artificial boundaries," he said, adding that human values could be integrated through educating labor around the globe.

Huang Ping, the director of the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that European and Chinese cultures emphasize the significance of people-to-people bonds, and that the Belt and Road Initiative could help to promote connectivity between Asia, Europe and Africa.

Lious Kamwenubusa, the general director of Burundi's Press and Publication Bureau, said that China could play a role in building a world economic order and a global governance framework by using its status as the world's second largest economy.

"The Chinese government's proposal of a community with a shared future for all mankind has great significance for the global community, especially for my country Burundi," said Kamwenubusa. "Both peace and prosperity are what my nation and its people need."

The symposium also had participants from the ongoing Beijing and Shanghai classes of the 2018 Visiting Program for Young Sinologists, which is also being run by the ministry.

Lobzang Dorji, an associate lecturer from the Royal University of Bhutan, who is part of the program, said that the topics at the symposium could help his research on Sino-Indian relations and its impact on Bhutan because the basic prerequisite for his research is understanding China from a cultural and economic perspective, its social and political system and its foreign policies.

"I want to thank the organizers for accepting me, although China and Bhutan have not established diplomatic relations," he said. "I think this kind of program is a catalyst for bridging the Sino-Bhutan relationship."