From May 16 to 18, 2025, the National Reading and Cultural Heritage: 2025 China–Foreign Reading Conference and the 4th Academic Symposium was successfully held at Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU). The forum was organized by the Research Committee on China–Foreign Reading Studies of the China Association for Comparative Studies of English and Chinese, co-organized by the Institute of National Reading Education at Renmin University of China and Beijing Jiayin Shunda Data Technology Co., Ltd., and hosted by the Development Planning Office and the School of Foreign Languages of Northwestern Polytechnical University. With the theme “National Reading and Cultural Heritage,” the conference featured keynote speeches, a postgraduate forum, book purchasing organized by the academic society, and on-site book signing and donation activities. Centered on how national reading can better carry and transmit cultural essence amid globalization and digitalization, and how it can gain renewed vitality in a new era, participants engaged in in-depth exchanges and discussions. The two-day conference brought together over 100 faculty members and students from 36 research institutions and universities across 14 provincial-level administrative regions, as well as representatives from three primary and secondary schools.

The opening ceremony was attended by Lü Weidong, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Northwestern Polytechnical University, and Professor Guo Yingjian, Chair of the Research Committee on China–Foreign Reading Studies and Dean of the Institute of National Reading Education at Renmin University of China, both of whom delivered opening remarks. Experts, scholars, and faculty and student representatives from institutions including Northwestern Polytechnical University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the National University of Defense Technology, Renmin University of China, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Shanghai International Studies University, and Xi’an International Studies University attended the conference. The opening ceremony was chaired by Professor Sun Yu, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages at Northwestern Polytechnical University.

A total of twelve renowned experts — including Li Donglai, Director of the Reading Promotion Committee of the Library Society of China; Professor Sandro Jung from Fudan University; Professor Gao Xing, former Editor-in-Chief of World Literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Professor Wang Zizhou from Peking University; and Professor Guo Yingjian — delivered keynote speeches on core topics such as digital reading and cultural innovation, artificial intelligence and educational equity, and national reading. Their insights contributed to the promotion and innovation of reading culture and to the inheritance and development of culture. At the postgraduate sub-forum, young scholars engaged in in-depth discussions and lively exchanges through themed presentations and expert commentaries on topics including national reading and literary education, literary creation and cultural studies, and literary reading and research. Outstanding postgraduate papers were selected, with the aim of fostering deeper cooperation and resource sharing and jointly exploring the limitless possibilities of reading and cultural heritage.

In addition, the conference specially organized book purchasing and on-site book signing and donation activities. Professor Tan Xudong, a renowned writer and critic from Shanghai University, and Professor Gao Xing, a distinguished poet, translator, and researcher from the Institute of Foreign Literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, signed and donated books to conference participants.

On the afternoon of May 17, the National Reading and Cultural Heritage: 2025 China–Foreign Reading Conference and the 4th Academic Symposium concluded successfully. The closing ceremony was presided over by Wang Gaozu, Party Secretary of the School of Foreign Languages at Northwestern Polytechnical University, during which awards were presented for outstanding postgraduate conference papers. More than an academic gathering, the conference represented a breakthrough in disciplinary paradigms, an experiment in cultural empowerment, and a channel for civilizational dialogue. Its success highlighted the unique value of reading in cultural inheritance and intercultural dialogue, further promoted the integration of national reading initiatives with academic research, and injected new vitality into China–foreign cultural exchange.