From 4^th to 5^th December, 2022, the British Studies Centre, the Irish Studies Centre and Academy of Regional and Global Governance of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) jointly organized Young Scholars Forum on "New Trends in Country and Area Studies from a Multidisciplinary Perspective". The forum consisted of keynote speeches and two plenary sessions. More than 30 experts and scholars from more than ten universities and research institutions participated in the forum both offline and online. The forum was hosted by Wang Zhanpeng, Deputy Dean of the School of English and International Studies.

Experts gave keynote speeches on topics including the history and trends of welfare state studies, comparative perspectives and methods in country and area studies, the evolution of transatlantic relations between Europe and the United States, the strategic competition between China and the United States, and the confrontation between China and the United States in the perspective of global powers, etc. They discussed the development of country and area studies from the ontological and methodological levels, incorporated the discussion with disciplines such as history, political science and sociology, and combined it with empirical studies on history and reality. In concluding remarks, Professor Wang Zhanpeng argued that the seminar had deepened the understanding of the multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and even supra-disciplinary nature of country and area studies, and provided a new dimension of thinking for its agenda and its identity.

During the plenary sessions, 12 young scholars shared their latest achievements or future research plans in the field of country and area studies. The moderators of "Politics and Foreign Relations" session, including Cui Hongjian, Song Xiaomin and Wang Zhanpeng, discussed with the young scholars on topics such as China-US relations, UK-US relations, German-Boer relations, US-India relations, Australia's investment in China, and comparative studies on regional integration, and gave advice in terms of research perspectives and methods. the moderators of "History, Society and Contemporary Thought" session, including Yu Wenjie, Chen Zhirui and Shi Yi gave advice on the value of the chosen topics and the feasibility of each research. The topics discussed included research on Sino-British anti-war archives, the construction of China's image in developing countries, strategies of international communication, the development of British separatism, etc.