School News

On December 9, 2023, the 3rd Chang'an Africa Forum, hosted by the Chinese Society for Asian and African Studies and Northwest University, took place at Northwest University. The event was co-sponsored by the Institute of Area Studies  at Northwest University, the School of Foreign Languages (School of Area Studies), the Institute of Middle East Studies of Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, the Center of African Studies at Northwest University, the Belt and Road Cultural Research Institute of Shaanxi Normal University, the School of Oriental and African Studies at Xi'an International Studies University, the Center of African Studies at Xi'an Translation College, and the Center of African Studies at Northwest University.

The forum venue

The opening ceremony was attended by Mr. Wang Lincong, Vice Chairman of the China’s Society for Asian and African Studies and Vice Chairman of the China’s African Research Institute, Mr. Lv Jianrong, Vice Secretary of the Party Committee of Northwest University, and Ambassador Sun Shuzhong, former Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda and the Kingdom of Morocco, who all delivered speeches. The forum was chaired by Professor Cao Ruonan, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages at Northwest University. Mr. Wang Lincong congratulated on the forum's convening and emphasized on the growing importance of African studies in the context of the profound changes in the world and the establishment of a "high-level China-Africa community with a shared future" proposed by President Xi Jinping. Mr. Lv Jianrong extended a warm welcome to the participating experts and scholars on behalf of Northwest University, highlighting the forum's significance as an important academic exchange platform aimed at fostering discussions on major issues facing China and Africa. Ambassador Sun Shuzhong shared insights from his own work experience and touched upon the imbalance in global development, the traditional friendship between China and Africa, and the need for strategic insights into China's future African studies, policies and strategies

WangLinchong

Lv Jianrong

Sun Shuzong

During the main forum session, eight distinguished guests, including Professor Zhang Zhongxiang, Vice Chairman of the China Society for Asian and African Studies and Director of the African Studies Center at Shanghai Normal University, and Professor Yu Jianhua, Vice Chairman of the China Association for Middle East Studies, and Researcher at the Institute of International Affairs of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, delivered keynote speeches.

Forum Scene

The forum featured three parallel sessions focusing on “Opportunities and Challenges of China-Africa Cooperation in the New Era”, “African Knowledge Production, Modernity, and construction of National State”, and “African Security Governance and International Relations”. Nearly a hundred scholars from 42 universities and research institutions, including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Wuhan University, Lanzhou University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Shaanxi Normal University, and Northwest University, participated in the forum, with 48 experts delivering speeches.

At the closing ceremony, reports on the discussions of each sub-forum were presented by Liu Gongqi from the Law School of Xiangtan University and the Sino-African Economic and Trade Law Research Institute, Huang Lizhi from the African College of Beijing Foreign Studies University, and Zhang Juanjuan from the Belt and Road Research Center of Lanzhou University. Professor Wang Xingang, Director of the African Studies Center at Northwest University, delivered the concluding remarks, highlighted the university's commitment to promoting China-Africa research, and contributed to the development of international and area studies.

Closing Ceremony

Handover Ceremony

Finally, Professor Cao Ruonan, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages at Northwest University, expressed gratitude to the experts and scholars for their strong support and active participation in the forum. She sincerely invited everyone to attend the 4th Chang'an Africa Forum, which is to be hosted by the School of Oriental and African Studies at Xi'an International Studies University next year.

Cao Ruonan

This forum focused on the opportunities, challenges, theories, and practices of China-Africa cooperation in the new era, aiming to deepen academic exchanges and jointly explore the advancement of cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Africa, as well as the promotion of building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future. Additionally, the forum addressed major issues, core topics, emergencies, strategic regions and international organizations in the field of area studies. Further discussions were conducted on the development direction of secondary disciplines within international and area studies, contributing to the continued integration and development of this field.

Group Photo