Visiting program for young sinologists opens in Beijing

The 2018 Visiting Program for Young Sinologists kicked off in Beijing on Friday, aiming to provide a platform for cultural exchanges between China and other countries.

Over the next three weeks, the program, co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, will bring an opportunity to 38 sinologists from 34 countries, including the U.S., France, Germany, India, Italy and Kazakhstan, to participate in workshops and seminars in Beijing and make a field trip to Guizhou province in Southwestern China.

In a speech at the opening ceremony of the program, Zhu Qi, deputy director of the Bureau for External Cultural Relations of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said he hoped the young sinologist would contribute to the cultural learning and exchanges between China and other countries after completing the program.

He advised young sinologists to immerse themselves in studies, make academic innovation through practices and actively engage in cultural exchanges.

Liu Li, president of Beijing Language and Culture University, said the university has rich experience in Chinese international education and sinology research and is committed to the development of international sinology.

David Mauricio Castrillon Kerrigan, a professor and researcher from Colombia, said he was surprised to see that China had already become Colombia's NO.2 trade partner, but many Colombians knew very little about it.

"How could we be so close economically and yet for so many Colombians to see China as a distant and vastly different country?" he said. "That is why I decide to dedicate myself to strengthening tie between both countries.

U.S. participant Daivd Jaffee Solomon, manager of the Consultant Service Department of U.S.-China Business Council, said it is a privilege to spend this month participating in the program — a unique opportunity to work with a diverse group of scholars and practitioners who are passionate and curious about China and its relationship to the rest of the world.

The program, initiated in 2014, has trained a total of 360 young sinologists from 95 countries and has played an important role in cultivating sinology academics.

This year, the program will hold seminars in spring, summer and autumn for the first time, and set up classes in six Chinese cities including Chongqing, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Xi'an, covering more than 200 participants.