Nearly 100 scholars and graduate students from about 40 institutions gathered at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) on Oct. 11 for the launch of Blue Book of the United Kingdom: Annual Report on Development of the United Kingdom (2024–2025), the latest annual volume on British affairs. Organized by the School of English and International Studies (SEIS) and BFSU’s Academy of Regional and Global Governance, the event drew participants from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), Nanjing University, and Sun Yat-sen University, among others.
Scholars gather at BFSU for the launch
and the accompanying symposium on British studies.
Opening remarks came from SEIS Dean Yang Luxin; Luo Lin of Beijing Language and Culture University, director of the Ministry of Education’s secretariat for country and regional studies; Feng Zhongping of CASS, president of the Chinese Association for European Studies (CAES); and Li Liwen, dean of BFSU’s School of English for Specific Purposes. They called for deeper study of Britain and other English-speaking countries to drive reform in English programs, so that area studies, a stand-alone discipline in China since 2022, and foreign language and literature studies strengthen each other.
Speakers discuss the findings of the new report.
Wang Zhanpeng, executive vice dean of the Academy and director of the SEIS British Studies Center, presented the report, the 11th volume compiled by the Academy, the center, and the Society of British Studies of CAES. Lin Deshan of China University of Political Science and Law, CICIR Vice President Zhang Jian, Yang Fang of CICIR, and Cui Hongjian of BFSU assessed it against recent developments in British politics and diplomacy.
In keynotes, Chen Xiaolü of Nanjing University examined the British constitution and relations among the U.K.’s four nations; Tian Dewen of CASS considered British studies as a model for an independent Chinese system of area studies; and Zhao Huaipu of China Foreign Affairs University traced recent shifts in the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship.” Li Jingkun of CASS and Fei Sheng of Sun Yat-sen University responded.
The launch ran alongside the fourth symposium on British Studies as a Discipline in Area Studies, where more than 40 scholars and graduate students discussed British politics, economy, and society in three interdisciplinary panels and a graduate forum. At a session on building a research network, more than 30 centers and departments from Peking University, Renmin University of China, BFSU, and other universities issued a joint initiative to deepen interdisciplinary study of English-speaking countries, pledging closer cooperation in training, research, and policy advice.
Blue Book of the United Kingdom (2024–2025),
the 11th volume in the series.
