On June 30, 2023, a “Seminar on Discipline Construction of Area Studies at Peking University (PKU)” was held in PKU’s School of International Studies. Focusing on the theme of “How to Build a First-Level Discipline of Area Studies,” the seminar aimed to further promote mutual exchanges among area studies centers on campus, enhance area studies of the university and promote the construction of “Double First-Class Disciplines” at the university. The conference was hosted by the Office of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Institute of Area Studies (IAS). Tang Shiqi, director of PKUIAS; Jiang Shigong, director of the Office of Humanities and Social Sciences; Li Yun, director of the Office of International Relations; Zhai Kun, Zhang Yongle, Zan Tao and Wang Dan, deputy directors of PKUIAS; Jin Ge, assistant to the director of PKUIAS; Wang Dong and Guo Lin, deputy directors of the Office of Humanities and Social Sciences; Zhuang Junju, director of Editorial Dept. of the Journal of International Studies; and 34 heads and teachers of area studies centers attended the conference. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Tang Shiqi.

Prof. Tang Shiji introduced the construction of the discipline of area studies, including the five issues of the “Theory of Area Studies,” “National Development and Modernization,” “Regional Integration and Geo-Relationship,” “Belt and Road,” and “Exchange and Mutual Learning of Civilizations.” Participants from each area studies centers exchanged their respective research priorities and contributions to area studies, and put forward their ideas for the construction of the discipline of area studies, including further focusing on key areas, attaching importance to strategic thinking, strengthening the vision of history and civilization, innovating linkage-oriented and institutionalized approaches of talent training and improving the academic evaluation system.

In his concluding remarks, Prof. Jiang Shigong pointed out that the Office of Humanities and Social Sciences had made efforts in recent years to carry out organized scientific research and promote cross-faculty and interdisciplinary exchanges, and the meeting was a good illustration of it. This approach helped to broaden horizons, switch the way of understanding, promote area studies with Chinese characteristics and form a common sense of problems, an innovative research team and a good academic ecology.

The meeting unified the ideological understanding, gathered the common sense regarding development and clarified the development ideas among PKU’s area studies forces, which will further promote the formation of new synergy and make new contributions to area studies and discipline construction at the university.