The second World Conference on China Studies opened in Shanghai on Monday, bringing together about 500 scholars and experts from China and abroad to discuss the country’s civilization, modernization, and global engagement.

Held under the theme “Historical and Contemporary China: A Global Perspective,” the three-day conference aims to deepen academic research on China’s development and its role in world history. The main academic sessions run from Tuesday through Wednesday following a series of tours and site visits.

Co-hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Shanghai municipal government, the event builds on the inaugural conference held in 2023, which centered on China’s path to modernization and civilization. Organizers said this year’s edition places stronger emphasis on academic exchange and interdisciplinary research.

Participants from China and more than 60 other countries are focusing on five main areas: the continuity and innovation of Chinese civilization, modernization, multidisciplinary approaches to China studies, global China studies in the digital age, and the field’s future development.

At the opening ceremony, Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, called for deeper historical and comparative research on China’s modernization, describing it as part of a shared global pursuit of progress. By highlighting its global significance through comparative studies, China studies can help answer the fundamental question of “where humanity is headed,” he said.

Thomas Gold, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, urged more international academics to conduct on-the-ground research in China. “I hope more foreigners will engage with people from all social strata as a pathway to deeper understanding,” he said.

The conference also released an initiative to promote global China studies and a recommended bibliography for researchers.

(Header image: At the second World Conference on China Studies in Shanghai, Oct. 14, 2025. Jia Tianyong/CNS/VCG)