Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) released the 2021 indices on the global country-specific and Chinese university translation capacity on May 28.

Zhao Gang, member of the standing committee of the CPC BFSU committee and vice-president of the university, addresses the opening ceremony on May 28. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Zhao Gang, member of the standing committee of the CPC BFSU committee and vice-president of the university, said studies on the two indices and discussions on the national translation capacity are concrete measures taken by the BFSU Research Centre for Country-specific Translation and Interpretation Capacity (RECTIC) and China’s translation circles.

The university will cultivate more talents and break new ground in translation practice and research to further enhance China’s translation capacity and international communication competence, Zhao said.

Gao Anming, vice-president of CICG, gives an opening speech on May 28. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Gao Anming, vice-president of China International Communications Group (CICG), appreciated the index studies and noted the significance of thinking in terms of the big picture, pooling resources, promoting industry-university collaboration and carrying out in-depth integration in strengthening research on China’s national translation ability.

Gao spoke highly of the strategic cooperation between CICG and BFSU and said he believes that the fruitful collaboration in translation-related talent training, practice and research is a model of industry-university cooperation.

Zhong Weihe, director of the Interpreting Committee at the Translators Association of China and distinguished chair professor at the City University of Macau, addresses the opening ceremony on May 28. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Zhong Weihe, director of the Interpreting Committee of the Translators Association of China and distinguished chair professor at the City University of Macau, affirmed BFSU's contributions to the translation discipline, specialty construction and translation research, adding that its Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation is a pioneer in China's translation education and research.

Ren Wen, director of the RECTIC and dean of the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation at BFSU, releases the 2021 translation capacity indices on May 28. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Professor Ren Wen, director of the RECTIC and dean of the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation at BFSU, released the 2021 translation capacity indices of 193 countries around the world and 454 universities in China, and praised the efforts made by the research team in refining the index system as well as the optimization of index weighting and data processing methods during the past year.

The indices show that in 2021, the top 20 countries that showed competence in translation capacity are the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Australia, Austria, Italy, France, Canada, Belgium, Finland, Switzerland, Poland, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland and Russia. China's translation capacity exceeded that of the UK, leaping from third in 2019 to second.

The top 20 universities on the Chinese mainland in terms of their translation abilities are the following: BFSU, Shanghai International Studies University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Peking University, Fudan University, Xiamen University, University of International Business and Economics, Sichuan International Studies University, East China Normal University, Beijing International Studies University, Zhejiang University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Wuhan University, Sun Yat-sen University, Nanjing University, Xi'an International Studies University, Shandong University, Tianjin Foreign Studies University, Hunan University and Sichuan University.

The top 10 universities in Taiwan, and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions with the strongest translation ability are National Taiwan University, Lingnan University, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong, National Taiwan Normal University, Hong Kong Baptist University, City University of Hong Kong, Soochow University and the University of Macao.

Following the news conference, the second Country-Specific Translation Competence Seminar: Theoretical Construction and Practical Exploration was held online.

Professors from renowned universities in China and foreign countries deliver keynote speeches at the second Country-Specific Translation Competence Seminar. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Professors from renowned universities in China and foreign countries delivered keynote speeches on the following topics:  interpreting, theoretical research and techniques of country-specific translation competence, as well as measures to improve national legal translation ability, the construction of national translation capacity in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, national film and television translation ability, medical translation in Taiwan, development of English and translation capacity building in the UK, national translation and communication capacity and future development of translation studies.

Yang Ping, editor-in-chief of Chinese Translators Journal, gives a concluding remark at the second Country-Specific Translation Competence Seminar. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Yang Ping, editor-in-chief of Chinese Translators Journal, gave a concluding remark, saying that she hopes the translation community will strengthen the construction of national translation capacity and bolster theoretical research and practical development in the field.

Yang also thanked BFSU for its unremitting efforts in advocating and promoting research on the construction of the country-specific translation capacity building, as well as the exchange platform it has built for the academic community.