On May 17, on the ninth anniversary of General Secretary Xi Jinping's hosting of the Symposium on Philosophical and Social Sciences Work and his delivery of an important speech, the Inaugural Annual Conference on the Development of Chinese Humanities Disciplines was held in Suzhou. Nearly 200 renowned scholars gathered to discuss the development prospects of humanities disciplines and share the mission of building a Culturally Strong country.

Co-hosted by Renmin University of China (RUC) and Soochow University (SU), this conference was themed "Humanities Disciplines and the Building of a Culturally Strong Country: Missions and Responsibilities in the New Era". It deeply discussed a series of key issues regarding the development of humanities disciplines.

Lin Shangli, President of RUC, Zhang Xiaohong, Secretary of the Party Committee of SU, Liu Xizhong, a member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice - Chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial Federation of Philosophical and Social Sciences Circles, and Liu Bo, Vice - Mayor of Suzhou City, attended and delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was presided over by Zhang Zhengbiao, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice-President of SU.

Lin Shangli pointed out that RUC is willing to work with all parties to write a "grand article" on the construction of humanities disciplines.

Zhang Xiaohong stated that SU will strengthen theoretical armament, promote digital humanities research, and create a "demonstration zone" for humanistic innovation and a "new window" for international exchanges.

Liu Xizhong mentioned that the social science community in Jiangsu will respond to the questions of the times from a humanistic perspective and write a chapter on the integration of humanities and the times in the construction of Jiangsu.

Liu Bo said that Suzhou will strengthen the cooperation between schools and localities, support the dialogue between humanities disciplines and local practices, deepen cross-border research, and optimize the dissemination of Chinese discourse.

At the conference, Huang Xingtao, Director of the Humanities Division of RUC, released the Report on the Development of Chinese Humanities Disciplines, systematically summarizing the current situation, hotspots, trends, and prospects, and putting forward the development direction. Feng Huiling, a national - level - 1 professor, released the Report on the Development of Chinese Digital Humanities (Volume 1), demonstrating China's digital humanities innovation ability and contributions.

National - level - 1 professors Chen Pingyuan, Wang Wei, a member of the Academic Division of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Wu Xiaoming, a national - level - 1 professor, Yang Huilin, former Vice - President of RUC, and Wang Yao, a chair professor at SU, respectively delivered keynote speeches, discussing the perseverance and development of humanities disciplines in the era of artificial intelligence.

The conference released the Suzhou Initiative for the Development of Chinese Humanities Disciplines, calling on the humanities community to uphold integrity and innovation. During the conference, several sub-forums will be held to discuss fields such as language and literature, history, archaeology, philosophy, art, and digital humanities.

The conference aims to build a system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. Through theoretical discussions and result releases, it provides solutions for humanities disciplines to respond to the needs of the times and helps build a Culturally Strong country.