An international forum themed “Area studies towards the 21st century: Global experiences and China paradigms” kicked off at Peking University (PKU) on Friday.

The event is being held on the first anniversary of the establishment of PKU’s Institute of Area Studies, which serves as a think tank, hosts international academic exchanges and provides a paradigm with Chinese characteristics.

The opening ceremony of Area Studies Towards the 21st Century: Global Experiences and China Paradigms hosted by the Institute of Area Studies Peking University was held at Peking University in Beijing, capital of China, April 12, 2019. (Photo: Bai Yuanqi/ People's Daily)

Hundreds of scholars and experts from home and abroad joined the forum with in-depth discussions over major theoretical and practical problems, academic problems and cultural and social issues in the field of area studies.

Xu Yong, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Education' s Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, spoke at the forum’s opening ceremony, joined by Wang Bo, Vice President of PKU and Manuelle Franck, President of INALCO, France.

Photo taken on April 12, 2019 shows the scene of the opening ceremony of Area Studies Towards the 21st Century: Global Experiences and China Paradigms at Peking University in Beijing, capital of China. (Photo: Guangming Online)

China is entering the world center from the edge, changing from an outsider and observer of global governance to a participant and rule-maker. The Community of Common Destiny and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposals are concrete manifestations of the transformation of China's international role, and its influence is universal, said Sanusha Naidu, a senior research fellow of the Institute for Global Dialogue based at UNISA in Pretoria.

Wang Bo, Vice President of Peking University, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of Area Studies Towards the 21st Century: Global Experiences and China Paradigms at Peking University in Beijing, capital of China, April 12, 2019.  (Photo: Bai Yuanqi/ People's Daily)

To complete this transformation, China should proactively learn about the world's different regions, countries and ethnic groups, she added.

The Belt and Road Initiative is an international cooperation platform that integrates economic development as the leading factor, society and culture. The world economic structure has gradually shifted from a single-cycle model centered on developed countries to a more complex double-circulation model with both developed and developing countries, said Zhang Hui, the Vice Dean of PKU’s School of Economics.