On the morning of November 27, the seminar on "Innovation and Development: International and Regional Studies on the community of shared future" was held on Lianhua campus of KUST, both in the online presentation and offline speeches. Vice Chair of the University Council and the Federation of Social Science Circles of KUST TIAN Jun, Director of International and Regional Research Secretariat of Ministry of Education LUO Lin, Executive Secretary General of Charhar Institute ZHOU Hucheng, and Director of the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies of Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences MA Yong, attended the conference and delivered speeches. Prof. FAN Yong, President of the Institute of Social and Humanity Research of KUST and Secretary General of the Federation of Social Science Circles of KUST, and Prof. XIONG Bin, Director of the ASEAN Research Center co-hosted the conference.

As ASEAN is the overlapping, integrated and hub area of China's "the Belt and Road" initiative and the "dual circulation" new development pattern, the international and regional research on ASEAN will be granted new historical missions and lifted to a strategic height, TIAN Jun pointed out. ASEAN research experts and scholars of different disciplines gathered together to explore new ideas of international and regional research under the new situation, which is conducive to tackle key problems with interdisciplinary collaboration and promote interdisciplinary integration. On behalf of the International and Regional Research Secretariat, Prof. LUO Lin extended warm congratulations on the opening of the conference. He believes that China and ASEAN countries have unique advantages in accelerating the construction of regional economic integration. As a member of the "national team" focusing on ASEAN economic management, KUST’s Research Center should have the mission to improve the level and effectiveness of international and regional research.

At the meeting, Prof. HUANG Dong, Director of ASEAN Research Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, shared the research results of China-ASEAN green innovation cooperation. Based on the large RCEP market, Prof. WEI Jingfu, Director of Institute for China Neighboring Economies (ICNE) of the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, put forward a new idea of expanding the research on "the Belt and Road" initiative. Based on the development and construction of ASEAN Research Centers, Nie Lei, Director of the Network Culture Research Center for South Asia and Southeast Asia Studies in Yunnan Province, elaborated the path and effect of interdisciplinary research oriented toward South Asia and Southeast Asia. Thirteen experts and scholars of KUST, who are from School of International Education, Faculty of Foreign Language and Culture, Faculty of Art and Communication, Faculty of Management and Economics, Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering, Faculty of Electric Power Engineering, and Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, spoke freely on how to conduct international and regional research on South Asia and Southeast Asia from different disciplines. Prof. WEN Shuhui and Prof. LI Erping of Faculty of Management and Economics made comments on the speeches of the distinguished guests.

The meeting was sponsored by the Faculty of Management and Economics of KUST and the Federation of Social Sciences Circles of KUST, and co-organized by the KUST’s ASEAN Research Center and HUST-KUST ASEAN Research Center, attracting nearly 250 people to make their online and offline presence. This meeting is the first bold attempt of interdisciplinary integration and collaborative development of engineering and liberal arts. At the meeting, participants exchanged ideas and explored new ideas on cooperation, which is of great practical significance to further integrate our school's interdisciplinary research strength, serve "the Belt and Road" initiative, promote its high-quality development, and contribute KUST’s effort in building the China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

Translated by: CAI Siqing, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures

Edited by: ZHANG Wei, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures (English)

Source: Faculty of Management and Economics

Issued by: Division of Overseas Cooperation (English)

Edited by: KUST News Center (Chinese)