Int'l attendees highlight mutual learning among civilizations at Shanghai conference

Global scholars attending the recently-concluded World Conference on China Studies in Shanghai have highlighted the importance of promoting mutual learning among civilizations, while stressing China's perspective on development offers valuable lessons for the international community to learn from.

The second edition of the World Conference on China Studies wrapped up on Wednesday after gathering around 500 guests from over 50 countries and regions around the world.

Themed "Historical and Contemporary China: A Global Perspective", the two-day conference featured various forums, activities and an exhibition focused on urban civilization.

Hundreds of international experts, researchers and scholars engaged in in-depth discussions, with many attendees pleased to have the opportunity to exchange views and share ideas with their peers.

"Staging an event like this, which is bringing together some 500 scholars from all over the world, is a fantastic opportunity not just to discuss China's place in the world and China's development, but also to interact amongst the scholarly community, which studies global politics today," said Richard Sakwa, Emeritus Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent.

"I think it's a great moment in history to be speaking about the global perspectives and the Chinese perspective on how the world is developing and how the current situation in general is. So I think this is a great opportunity to keep doing this mutual understanding between civilizations," said Lucia Neirotti, cooperation executive of Uruguay's National Agency for Research and Innovation.

The conference also called for deepening studies and broadening knowledge about China across a wide array of topics including history, society, and culture, while the country's development achievements were also of particular interest to a number of attendees.

Some noted China's modernization journey offers valuable insights for the development of their own countries, highlighting opportunities for international cooperation in fields like manufacturing, trade and technology.

"For me as a designer, if we could learn to engineer our products in line with Chinese manufacturing processes, that allows us to engineer products that are going to be functional, aesthetic, and also cost effective. So the more understanding there is between China and Ireland in the manufacturing sector, the higher quality products that will be produced and distributed globally," said Finn O'Driscoll, an industrial design engineer from Ireland.

Int'l attendees highlight mutual learning among civilizations at Shanghai conference

Preparations for the launch of China's Shenzhou-22 spacecraft are in full swing as it will be launched at an appropriate time to send food supplies and equipment to the Chinese space station, according to an official from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Friday.

Zhou Yaqiang, the CMSA official, said the preparatory work includes spacecraft and rocket tests and cargo preparation. "The mission for launching the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft has been initiated, with preparations for all systems in full swing, including testing the spacecraft and rocket components and preparing the cargo. The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft is sure to carry supplies. The spacecraft's cargo-carrying capacity is a highly valuable resource for the manned space program, so we will make full use of every opportunity. The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft will mainly deliver food supplies for the astronauts and some equipment for the space station," Zhou said.

On Nov 1, the Shenzhou-21 manned spaceship sent a crew of three astronauts to the Chinese space station to succeed the three-member Shenzhou-20 crew and stay in orbit for around six months.

However, the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, which was originally scheduled to take the Shenzhou-20 crew of three astronauts back to the Earth on Nov 5, experienced a suspected impact from space debris before the task, resulting in it not meeting the requirements for a safe return, according to the CMSA.

The agency therefore adopted an alternative plan, taking the three Shenzhou-20 astronauts back to the Earth aboard the Shenzhou-21 ship on Friday. This marked the first successful implementation of an alternative return procedure in the country's space station program history.

Preparations for Shenzhou-22 mission in full swing: CMSA official