A seminar on the international role the United Kingdom plays in the post-Brexit era and a high-end forum on national and regional development of English were held at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) from Oct 23 to 24.

More than 60 scholars and experts from over 20 renowned universities and research institutions, including BFSU, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) and China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), participated in the events.

Experts and scholars from renowned universities and institutions attend the seminar on the international role the UK plays in the post-Brexit era.

The seminar on the international role the UK plays in the post-Brexit era was presided over by Wang Zhanpeng, vice-dean of the School of English and International Studies at BFSU, and Song Xiaomin, editor-in-chief of the Chinese Journal of European Studies. Feng Zhongping, director of the Institute of European Studies of CASS, Tian Dewen and Liu Zuokui, deputy directors of the institute, Li Jingkun, vice-president of the British Studies Society at the Chinese Association for European Studies, Zhang Jian, assistant president of CICIR, Cui Hongjian, director of the Department for European Studies at CIIS, Zhao Huaipu, a professor from China Foreign Affairs University, Xin Hua, executive director of the Center for European Union Studies at Shanghai International Studies University, and other representatives delivered keynote speeches on the repositioning of the UK after Brexit, further development of Sino-UK relations, diplomatic traditions and the strategic adjustment of the UK in the Brexit era and its impact on Sino-UK relations, as well as the UK’s participation in the AUKUS alliance. A total of 23 papers were presented at the seminar. 

At the high-end forum on national and regional development of English, Luo Lin, director of the Secretariat for Country and Regional Studies of the Ministry of Education, noted that in recent years, China has attached great importance to national and regional research, provided a broad platform for the development of foreign language disciplines and affirmed the leading role of English in such fields. 

Following the talk, scholars from universities such as BFSU, the University of International Relations, Renmin University of China, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and Southwest Jiaotong University exchanged views on discipline orientation, identity construction, talent training, curriculum setting and integrated development of innovation in English teaching and national and regional studies. English teaching should meet national needs, take the lead in national and regional research and cultivate more talents to serve national strategies, experts said.