The second High-end Forum on National Discourse Competence and International Communication Capacity was held online on Dec 24.

The forum was hosted by the National Research Centre for State Language Capacity and the National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).

The second High-end Forum on National Discourse Competence and International Communication Capacity is held online on Dec 24. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Sun Youzhong, a member of the standing committee of the CPC BFSU committee and vice-president of the university, delivered an opening speech. Wang Wenbin, director of the National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education at BFSU, made closing remarks.

A total of 16 experts and scholars engaged in foreign languages, international communication and global issues from renowned universities in China, such as BFSU, Nanjing University, China Foreign Affairs University and the National University of Defense Technology, attended the forum to discuss new perspectives on foreign language talent training.

They exchanged views on the relationship between national foreign language education ability and international communication competence, language issues in access to regional and country studies, and the international experience of talent training in national language capability.

The scholars also explained the new trends in national discourse competence research, including ways to build up an academic discourse system, development of an evaluation system of national discourse competence, and the influence of critical cognitive linguistics and social ontology.

Topics such as communication strategies of discourse security in international communication, discourse tactics in the competition among great powers, discourse interactions and rhetoric in international communication, the interpretation of knowledge in international communication, and the international communication of city brands and traditional Chinese culture were covered, as were the rhetorical and international communication strategies in diplomatic discourse.

Featuring an interdisciplinary perspective, the forum probed into ideas and measures in cultivating foreign language talents and relevant scientific research in a bid to improve national discourse competence and promote the development of meaningful international communication.