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Ljiljana Stević, PhD, on Academic Exchange in China and Participating in the Most Important Sinological Conferences
28.11.2025
Assistant Professor Ljiljana Stević, PhD, is spending this semester on academic exchange at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the People's Republic of China, and is the first foreign visiting professor in the history of this faculty.
Prof. Stević teaches Cultural Diplomacy to students of this faculty, within which they are presented with the theoretical framework, contemporary practices and specific elements of cultural diplomacy with special emphasis on film, literary translation, art and fashion.
She also took part in the prestigious sinological conference in Shanghai, opened on 21 October 2025. The 23rd Conference of International Exchange of Professionals, which is the largest and most important international platform for gathering the global talents in China, brought together more than 120 scholars and researchers from 47 countries. The conference was organized by the World Center for Chinese Studies of Beijing Language and Culture University.
This year's slogan of the conference was "Gathering the Global Talents - Cooperation for Mutual Benefit", and the theme was "Innovation and Development of Discourse Capacity in Global Sinology and China Studies". As part of the event, a sub-forum entitled “Youth Empowerment for Civilization Mutual Learning: The Mission and Path of Cross-Cultural Inheritance and Innovation” was also held, in which prof. Stević took part. As a member of the World Council of Sinologists from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Head of the Department of Sinology and Director of the Sinological Research Center of the Faculty of Philology, University of Banja Luka, she presented her research “Introducing Film Studies and Chinese Film into Sinological Research”. This is an innovative approach to the development of Sinology and the modernisation of the study programme in Banja Luka.
“This conference confirms how important it is for the University of Banja Luka and the Republic of Srpska to be present in international academic and research trends in the field of Sinology and Chinese studies, where our region is still underrepresented,” prof. Stević emphasized.
Assistant professor Ljiljana Stević, PhD, and prof. Nina Sajić, PhD, from the University of Banja Luka took part in the international conference “High-Quality Development of the Belt and Road Initiative: Concepts and Actions”, held on 18 and 19 November 2025 in Beijing, organised by the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The event, which gathered more than 80 experts from 25 countries across the world, explored key political, economic and cultural aspects of the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, one of the most ambitious global endeavours of the modern era.
Assistant professor Ljiljana Stević, PhD, presented the paper “The Development of Chinese Studies and Sinology in the Balkans: The Role of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Contribution of the ‘Confucius’ Institute to Cultural Diplomacy”, highlighting the importance of institutional cooperation and the growing influence of Chinese studies in the countries of the region.
Prof. Nina Sajić, PhD, presented the research “From Brussels to Beijing: Value Narratives and Connectivity Policy in the Balkans”, analysing differing European and Chinese approaches to connectivity and pointing to the role of values, geopolitical interests and developmental dynamics in shaping cooperation in the Balkans.
The participation of the University of Banja Luka representatives in the conference in Beijing attests to the growing reputation of our academic community and its continued contribution to building scientific links with partners around the world.
