SOAS and BFSU launch China’s first joint institute for Country and Region Studies
SOAS University of London and Beijing Foreign Studies University have launched the BFSU SOAS Joint Institute in Beijing - the first Chinese-foreign higher education cooperative dedicated to Country and Region Studies.
The collaboration brings together SOAS’s long-standing tradition of scholarship in Asia, Africa and the Middle East with BFSU’s unrivalled breadth of language provision and growing strength in Country and Region Studies.
We are united by a shared conviction: that deep knowledge of countries and regions matters profoundly...
The BFSU SOAS Joint Institute will educate graduates with a global outlook, focusing on languages, cultures, histories, and societies across different regions of the world, who can connect local realities with global challenges.
Offering a Bachelor’s degree in Country and Region Studies, as well as two Master’s programmes, the BFSU SOAS Joint Institute will have an enrolment capacity of nearly 500 students, with recruitment scheduled to begin in 2027.
It will support interdisciplinary teaching and research, foster academic exchange between the UK and China, and create new opportunities for students and scholars to work together on shared global challenges.
Professor Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor of SOAS University of London, said: “Our two institutions may work within distinct higher-education systems, but we are united by a shared conviction: that deep knowledge of countries and regions matters profoundly to how we understand a rapidly changing world. We look forward to working with BFSU to create an institute where linguistic knowledge, regional expertise and disciplinary training reinforce one another to offer world-class academic programmes.”
Chair of BFSU University Council Li Hai said that the establishment of the joint Institute represents an important step by BFSU in responding to China’s strategy of building a strong education system, implementing the requirements for opening up education in the new era, and engaging with leading international models of higher education. It is also the first Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution in China specialising in Country and Region Studies.
He added the joint Institute will adopt a research philosophy based on “dual perspectives and multiple dimensions,” drawing on well-established international research methodologies while developing an academic training system with a strong theoretical foundation and distinctive BFSU characteristics.
The inauguration ceremony took place on 19 September at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), chaired by Jia Wenjian, President of BFSU. As part of the launch a Presidents’ Forum discussion themed “Disciplinary Development in Country and Region Studies and the High-Quality Development of Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Education” took place, chaired by Liu Xinlu, member of the CPC Committee and Vice President of BFSU.
