Jiang Jianguo, Minister of the State Council Information Office, delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Sixth World Forum on China Studies in Shanghai on November 20 (LI NAN)

Four scholars were granted the Chinese Government's highest honor for China studies overseas at the opening ceremony of the Sixth World Forum on China Studies in Shanghai on November 20. 

The Award for Outstanding Contributions to China Studies aims to promote China studies abroad and facilitate friendly exchanges between China and other countries. 

The winners are David M Lampton, director of China Studies at Johns Hopkins University; Tan Chung, honorary director of the Institute of the Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in India; Mikhail Titarenko, an academician at the Russian Academy of Science and director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies; and Elizabeth J. Perry, director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute.  

The Sixth World Forum on China Studies opened in Shanghai on November 20 with the theme "China's reform, opportunities for the world." More than 200 scholars and opinion leaders from over 30 countries and regions are taking part in the forum to discuss a range of topics on China's reform. 

Jiang Jianguo, Minister of the State Council Information Office, delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong and other renowned figures from different fields were in attendance. 

The two-day forum consists of nine roundtable workshops discussing topics that include the new normal of the Chinese economy, the transformation of China's governing system, ecological civilization and sustainable development, the Belt and Road Initiative and the community of common interest, the present and future of Chinese studies, China's cultural traditions, historical experiences and social innovations, social development and the social structure of contemporary China, world order and global governance and socialism with Chinese characteristics. 

Founded in 2004, the World Forum on China Studies is a Shanghai-based biennial academic event organized by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and the Shanghai Municipal Information Office. Sponsored by the State Council Information Office and the Shanghai Municipal Government, the forum is dedicated to fostering an informed mutual understanding between China and the rest of the world. 

(Reporting from Shanghai )