On November 28, the book launch of Annual Report on Development of the United Kingdom (2018-2019) and the academic conference on "UK General Election, Brexit Prospects and Transformation Challenges" was held in BFSU. The event was co-hosted by BFSU, Social Sciences Academic Press, Institute of European Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the British Studies branch of Chinese Association for European studies, and organised by British Studies Centre of School of English and International Studies，The Academy of Regional and Global Governance and the editorial department of Chinese Journal of European Studies.
Peng Ping, vice dean of School of English, Yang Qun, editor in chief of Social Sciences Academic Press, and Tian Dewen, deputy director of Institute of European Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, delivered speeches at the opening ceremony of book launch and academic seminar. Experts, scholars and media representatives from nearly 20 universities and research institutions, including Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, China Institute of International Studies, Renmin University of China, Fudan University, Nanjing University, Shandong University, Shanghai Foreign Studies University and Beijing Foreign Studies University, attended the book launch and seminar. The book launch was hosted by Wang Zhanpeng, associate dean of the School of English and International Studies and director of the British Studies centre.
Professor Tian Dewen made an analysis on the political, economic, social and international status changes brought about by Brexit, and put forward the proposition of how to continue to promote the "China-UK golden age" consensus after Brexit.
Ambassador Ma Zhengang, member of the foreign policy Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former Chinese ambassador to the UK and President of the British Studies branch of Chinese Association for European studies, delivered a keynote speech, analyzing the evolution of the relationship between Britain and the European Union and the impact of Brexit on Britain's international status from the perspective of the uniqueness of British history and the world's unprecedented changes in a century.
Professor Wang Zhanpeng, the chief editor of Blue Book of the United Kingdom, released the theme report and main contents of the development report on behalf of the research team, focusing on the political, economic and social situation of Britain in the Brexit impasse from 2018 to 2019, and discussed the far-reaching impact of Brexit on Britain and the world.At the following academic conference, more than 20 experts and scholars conducted in-depth discussions on the prospects of Brexit and the General Election 2019 under the four topics of "Reflection on Brexit", "Brexit and the Dilemma of the Labor Party", "Opportunities and Challenges of Sino-British Relations" and "Challenges of Transformation of British foreign policy".
During the meeting, a new book Graceful Decline by Gui Tao, a journalist from Xinhua news agency and a part-time researcher at the British Studies Centre, was also launched.
