On May 9, School of Foreign Languages of Shanghai Jiao Tong University hosted the 2021 Spring Forum on the Construction of Academic Discourse System for Foreign Languages and Literature, which was a move to implement the spirit of both President Xi Jinping's speech at the symposium on philosophy and social sciences and Xi’s letter in reply to the staff of the editorial office of the Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy. The forum aimed to unite the philosophy and social sciences scholars and researchers together, including those of foreign languages, to undertake the historic mission of building the academic discourse system for philosophy and social sciences.

Lin Zhongqin, President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Leaders, well-known experts and scholars from Tsinghua University, Peking University and other universities and related units, Ding Jian, Secretary of CPC SFL Committee of SJTU, Chang Hui, Executive Associate Dean of SFL of SJTU, Peng Qinglong, Associate Dean of SFL of SJTU and chief editor of Journal of Shanghai Jiao Tong University(philosophy and social sciences edition), as well as representatives of teachers and students of SFL attended the event. The opening ceremony of the forum was presided over by Peng Qinglong.

Lin Zhongqin extended sincere congratulations on the opening of the forum and warm welcome to all the foreign languages experts and scholars. As a "double first-class" university, SJTU expected to work together with experts and scholars from universities and research institutes across the country to explore the mission, development ideas and paths of China's foreign languages discipline in the new era, so as to better serve the national strategic needs and make greater contributions.

Ding Jian said that SFL will deeply understand the spirit of Xi's important speech at the symposium for philosophy and social sciences, and strive to build a first-class foreign languages discipline and a first-class school of foreign languages.

Chang Hui gave a general introduction of SFL, focusing on discipline construction and important progress from the aspects of the 13th Five-Year Plan achievements and the 14th Five-Year Plan blueprint.

Experts and scholars at the meeting conducted in-depth academic exchanges on how to implement the spirit of Xi's speech, how to meet the inevitable demand of national development in the new era, how to promote integrated development of foreign languages discipline, and how to better serve China's modernization drive.

The Forum shows the importance that SJTU has always attached to discipline construction. Peng Qinglong, the leader of the forum, pointed out that the adjustment of the direction of foreign languages discipline not only reflected its intrinsic development law, but also conformed to the inevitable demands of national development in the new era.

Professor Liu Jianjun concluded that today's new discipline construction, especially that of  foreign languages, exemplified a profound revolution in the field of education, which called for new task and new journey, and at the same time new opportunities and new challenges.