The China-CEEC Cultural Exchange Forum, hosted by the Central and Eastern European Studies Centre and the School of European Languages and Cultures at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), took place on Sept 23.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism, launched in 2012, is an important part of the initiative and has made substantial achievements in various fields, said Zhao Gang, a member of the standing committee of the CPC BFSU committee and vice-president of the university.

Zhao said he hopes that experts and scholars will share their research outcomes to foster closer ties between China and Central and Eastern European countries.

Zong Wa (L), deputy secretary-general of the China Education Association for International Exchange Secretariat, presents the plaque of the Academic Network for Literature of the China-CEEC Higher Education Institutions Consortium to Zhao Gang (R). [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

The forum launched the Academic Network for Literature of the China-CEEC Higher Education Institutions Consortium.

Zhao read out the network's action initiative, which calls on its members to promote openness, mutual learning, resource sharing and win-win cooperation, and ultimately to advance cultural exchanges between China and Central and Eastern European countries.

Yang Qun (R), editor-in-chief of the Social Sciences Academic Press, releases the Blue Book of CEEC: Annual Report on the Development of Central and Eastern European Countries (2022) together with Zhao Gang (L), chief editor of the blue book. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Participants of the China-CEEC Cultural Exchange Forum pose for a group photo. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

The forum, conducted both online and offline, brought together more than 80 experts and scholars from Chinese and other universities and research institutions. It included sub-forums on literature research and exchanges, higher education studies and communications, cultural and tourism strategies and think tank research between China and Central and Eastern European countries.