媒体聚焦 | CHINA DAILY: Scholars call for stronger Chinese voice in global discourse

The First National Symposium on Diplomatic Discourse and Country and Region Studies is held at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

The First National Symposium on Diplomatic Discourse and Country and Region Studies, held at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, focused on strengthening China's international communication capacity, diplomatic discourse development and regional expertise.

"International competition is not only a contest of economic and technological hard power, but also a game of discourse power and narrative capability," said Liu Yuanchun, president of SUFE. He emphasized that addressing the imbalance in international public opinion, where Western voices dominate while China's voice remains relatively weak, has become increasingly imperative.

Liu called for breaking down barriers between foreign languages, economics, international relations and communication studies to cultivate well-rounded professionals.

Yu Tao, vice-president of China International Communications Group, urged developing a multistakeholder, multidimensional international communication framework and strengthening the translation workforce.

Through high-quality innovation in international discourse and professional training, these joint efforts would promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and help build a community with a shared future for humanity, Yu added.

The symposium also features five parallel forums.

Chen Dongxiao, president of Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, noted that think tanks serve dual functions — explaining China's evolution to foreign audiences while helping domestic citizens understand international complexities. "The goal is to ensure Chinese solutions spread widely and are truly understood," he said.

The conference featured five parallel forums examining topics including Marxist diplomatic discourse system, major-country economic diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, China's independent knowledge system for country and region studies, literary narratives and translation challenges.

Scholars explored topics ranging from discourse construction in economic diplomacy white papers, disciplinary approaches to country and region studies, overseas public opinion on China and strategic narratives, and political equivalence in the translation of diplomatic discourse.

Participants agreed that developing China's diplomatic narrative system and strengthening international discourse influence require interdisciplinary collaboration.

An agreement was also signed establishing collaborative research between the China Academy of Translation and SUFE focused on translation and disseminating major-country economic diplomatic discourse.