The Second ShaoFeng Forum on African related Publications Held

Written by: Tao Yanming, Liu Qing

Edited by:Ding Defeng

Translated by: Li Tingting, Xiao Liang

On November 1, theSecond ShaoFeng Forum on African related Publicationskicked off in Shaoshan. During the forum, the editorial department ofChina-Africa Economic and Trade Law Reviewwas officially established. The Uganda Research Center of the China-Africa Research Institute at Xiangtan University wasinauguratedon the same occasion. The event has built an important platform for advancing the high-quality development of Africa-related publications. Liao Yong’an, President of Xiangtan University and Director of the China-Africa Research Institute, attended the forum.

The forum gathered more than 50 experts and scholars from the editorial departments of well-known journals such asPeople’s Daily,West Asia and Africa,African Studies,Middle East Studies,International Security Studiesand Arab World Studies, as well as China TranslationandPublishing House, and a number of domestic universities and research institutions including Peking University, Nanjing University, Wuhan University, East China Normal University, Communication University of China and Hunan University.

Liao Yong’an pointed out that against the backdrop of the rising influence of the Global South, building an independent intellectual system for African studies has become an important task entrusted by the times, and Africa-related publications serve as a core carrier of such a system. He noted that Xiangtan University boasts nearly five decades of accumulated achievements in African studies. Taking the forum as an opportunity, the university will further deepen exchanges and cooperation with academic peers in Africa, jointly advance the construction of China’s academic discourse system for African studies, and contribute greater wisdom and strength to the overall development of China-Africa friendly relations.

Following the opening ceremony, an achievement release andinauguratingceremony was held at the forum. The official establishment of the Editorial Department ofChina-Africa Economic and Trade Law Reviewmarks an important leap forward for Xiangtan University on the basis of the decade-long development ofAfrican Law Review. It expands the university’s research focus from African law alone to a comprehensive academic platform covering all fields of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.Meanwhile, the Uganda Research Center under the China-Africa Research Institute of Xiangtan University was officially inaugurated, making it the first university-based national research center on Uganda in China. Relying on the university’s participation in the China-Africa Universities 20+20 Cooperation Program and its sound cooperative ties with Makerere University, as well as previous achievementsinthe joint operation of the Confucius Institute and the inclusion of Chinese language in Uganda’s national education system, the center will commit itself to in-depth national studies on Uganda and promote educational exchanges between China and Uganda.The forum also promoted the Swahili version ofChina Capital Market Research ReportofChina’s Financial Opening-Up: Goals and Paths. The publication provides a valuable model for the localized dissemination of China’s financial experience across Africa.

During the special seminar session, participating experts and scholars conducted in-depth discussions around three core themes, including the New Mission of Africa-related Publications in the New Era, China-Africa Academic Publishing Cooperation and External Narratives, and Building a China-Africa Knowledge Community: The Role and Exploration of Publications.

The discussions focused closely on the development path of countryand regionstudies journals, the translation and communication strategies of Africa-related academic works, the contemporary value of major projects such asGeneral History of Africa, and the practice of specialized publications includingAfrican Law Review. Scholars exchanged views on how to advance people-to-people bonds between China and Africa through publications, serve national strategic needs, and innovate knowledge production and discourse system construction, and put forward a set of constructive viewpoints.

The forum was jointly hosted by the China-Africa Research Institute of Xiangtan University and the editorial department ofWest Asia and Africaunder the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and co-organized by Shanghai Huiye(Changsha)Law Firm.