Roundtable 5 of Nanjing Forum 2025, titled “The Era of Digital Intelligence and Area Studies,” was successfully held at the Xianlin Campus of Nanjing University on November 15-16, 2025. This marked the third time that the Institute of Area Studies and the School of International Studies at Nanjing University hosted a sub-forum of the Nanjing Forum, the theme of roundtable 5 is “The Era of Digital Intelligence and Area Studies.” Qi Dayu, Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Hungary, Jérôme Bellion-Jourdan, Senior Fellow at the Global Negotiation Institute, University of Zurich, as well as over twenty experts and scholars from Peking University, National University of Defense Technology, East China Normal University, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Nanjing University, Yonsei University and Sungkyunkwan University, attended the forum. Participants engaged in discussions on the contemporary mission, key issues, theoretical construction, and disciplinary development of Area Studies against the backdrop of digital intelligence.

Experts concurred that Area Studies serves as a crucial pathway to comprehensively and profoundly understand the external world amidst changes on a scale unseen in a century, to foster positive interaction between China and the world, and to advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. The digital-intelligent era brings new conveniences for understanding the world but also presents unprecedented challenges. Deepening Area Studies in this era contributes to addressing the deficits in peace, development, security, and governance within global governance. The four global initiatives proposed by China offer Chinese solution in changing and turbulent world. However, translating these initiatives into practice and turning proposals into reality requires the enhancement of major-country diplomatic capabilities and the support of rich, multi-dimensional, and reliable knowledge in Area Studies and International Relations. Young and middle-aged scholars presented their latest research findings and perspectives on various topics: Construction of International Relations Historiography and Area Studies, Paradigm Shift and Path of Localization in Russian Studies from Global Perspective, Insight into Artificial Intelligence and Regional Issues through the South China Sea, Research on New Frontiers from the Perspective of Area Studies, and U.S.-India Military Cooperation from Area Studies.

The roundtable of “The Era of Digital Intelligence and Area Studies” was an important part of Nanjing Forum 2025, co-organized by Nanjing University and Chey Institute for Advanced Studies. The theme of this year was “New Perspectives on Civilization in the Era of Digital Intelligence: East Asia and the World.” Professor Wang Yizhou, Dean of Nanjing University Institute of Area Studies delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

(Trans./Wei Yawen)