On May 29, 2023, the School of International Studies of Nanjing University held an innovation forum on “Security, Development and Civilization”, to study the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress Report, enhance the understanding of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and strengthen the pioneering development of discipline construction and academic research in the “Endeavor Action” Plan of Nanjing University. Xu Bu, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the China Institute of International Studies; Yang Jiemian, Director of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Shanghai Institute for International Studies; Wang Fan, President of the School of Foreign Affairs; Wu Zhicheng, Deputy Director of the Institute of International Strategic Studies at the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC; Men Honghua, Dean of the School of Political Science and International Relations at Tongji University; Xing Liju, Professor of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University; Qiu Zhi, Professor of the Party School of Jiangsu Provincial Committee, and more than thirty students and faculty members of the School of International Studies attended the forum. Zhu Feng, Executive Dean of the School of International Studies of Nanjing University, presided over the Forum.
Professor Zhu Feng firstly introduced the construction and development of the SIS and pointed out that the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, as important components of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, demonstrate the wisdom and capability of a rising China to contribute to sustainable peace and prosperity in the world and point the way forward for the world to emerge from a period of turbulent change. Inspired by the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, the faculty and students of the SIS will continue to study, research and interpret Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy at a high level.
Director Yang Jiemian pointed out that the development of International Studies has gone through three “three-decades”. The first “three-decades” was the initial stage of the discipline, mainly centered in Europe and the United States; the second one was the consolidating stage of the discipline, mainly in the United States; and now IR is entering the third one, the stage of integration and development. When constructing International Studies, scholars should pay attention to the research of political theory under the guidance of Chinese Marxism, contribute to the development of the theory of major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, and combine political theory and academic theory. Attention should be paid to cultivating top-level, professional, inter-disciplinary talents and academic and policy cross-arena talents. He believed that the SIS of Nanjing University will be promising in the construction of a relatively balanced discipline merging Western and non-Western schools of thoughts. It should strengthen the construction of an autonomous system of disciplines by making good use of the resources of Nanjing University, especially the role of that as a comprehensive key university, highlighting academic characteristics, and promoting the construction of theoretical schools.
Ambassador Xu Bu said that the construction and development of the International Studies should be combined with the needs of the country. Teachers and students should study Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy seriously, have an international vision and global perspective, and adhere to the “two combinations”. The Party’s documents and the government’s report integrate domestic and international needs, reflecting the understanding of history, the grasp of reality and future trends, which provide scholars with research directions that cannot separate academic and political study. He pointed out that scholars of International Studies should not only study Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy in depth, comprehend and sort out the documents and reports of the Party and the government, but also have their own thinking to make theological expressions and interpretations. Issues such as major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and Chinese Path to Modernization are cutting-edge issues to which Chinese IR scholars need to devote. Scholars need to diversify their knowledge base, form their own thinking framework and knowledge system, and exercise their expression skills so that they can stand out in academic research.
According to Dean Wang Fan, Nanjing University has two major advantages in building the discipline of International Studies: firstly, its long-term cooperation with Johns Hopkins University in the United States provides it resources in internationalization; secondly, cities in southern China are highly extroverted with local characteristics and have more foreign enterprises, which gives it an advantage in conducting city diplomacy. He suggested that the development of the SIS should broaden its vision, explore organized scientific research, strengthen cross-disciplinary construction, and combine the wisdom of scholars together. It also needs to cultivate problem awareness, innovation, and academic sensitivity. Regarding young scholars, they need to raise more valuable questions related to national difficult situations and emergencies. Wang also pointed out that Western IR theories can be used as tools, but Chinese theoretical system is more innovative, and it is necessary to strengthen the study of traditional Chinese culture; and for the various international initiatives proposed by our country, it is necessary to strengthen theoretical paving, theoretical accumulation and theoretical research.
Dean Men Honghua said that the construction of International Studies should be combined with policy and theory to serve the needs of national development and major strategic demands. In the current “Golden Age” when China’s International Studies and diplomacy are receiving worldwide attention, our mission and opportunity is to explore and build our own theoretical system. At present, the theoretical system of domestic IR is still not sufficiently integrated with traditional culture, so we can explore the combination of domestic IR with philosophy, history and Western IR theory. He believed that the SIS and its discipline construction must find its own orientation and path, and the discipline construction should “go mainstream” and “manifest characteristics”.
Vice Dean Wu Zhicheng emphasized that for the theory of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, we should not only do a good job of research, but also do a good job of publicity and theoretical interpretation, and moreover, we should develop its theoretical basis. Development is the fundamental and ultimate goal. It is necessary to break the “bottleneck” of not paying enough attention to International Studies in outward-looking regions. For the universities that have already established the School of International Studies, it is necessary to plan the human resources and institutional settings at the school level. The emergence of new disciplines such as National Security and Area Studies has both positive and potential negative impact on the development of International Studies. With such disciplinary crossing and integration, it is necessary to explore how to make the discipline of International Studies stronger and better.
Professor Xing Liju illustrated that the construction of International Studies needs to be combined with other disciplines such as literature, history and philosophy, especially the need to explore how to converge Chinese culture and International Studies and need to combine theory and practice. The report of the 18th CPC National Congress explicitly proposes to promote public diplomacy, which is a good fit between culture and International Studies and caters to the needs of national development. The Chinese traditional culture is the root and soul of the Chinese nation, and research must be conducted based on China’s reality and combined with culture and philosophy. It is best for scholars to have living experience in the target country or have conducted fieldwork in order to achieve a good understanding of that country.
Professor Zhu Feng concluded that the forum is a great event for teachers and students of the SIS to study the report of the 20th CPC National Congress at a high level, and the candid suggestions made by all of the experts on the construction of the School will be beneficial to the development of SIS and the construction of the discipline. The research of International Studies is not only academic but also political. Both the construction of the discipline and its academic research should be political, academic, innovative, international and scientific. Finally, the forum was successfully concluded with the warm applause of the students and teachers. (Wang Xiaotian)
