The 12th annual meeting of Society for Cultural Interaction in East Asia was recently held in Zhengzhou University, sponsored by the Research Center for the Inheritance, Dissemination and Education of the Chinese Characters Civilization and the Chinese Character Civilization Research Center of Zhengzhou University.

The conference had been conducted both online and offline with the theme "Chinese Characters as a Medium of Cultural Interaction: Communication and Influence". Its opening ceremony was held on the main campus of ZZU and was broadcast live through the Tencent conference and Bilibili website. Prof. Han Guohe, vice president of ZZU and member of the standing committee of the university party committee, and Prof. Uchida Keiichi of Kansai University in Japan delivered speeches respectively. Prof. Li Yunfu and Prof. Vande Walle of the University of Leuven, Belgium respectively delivered speeches on “A cross-cultural comparative perspective on the international communication and influence of Shuo Wen and Yu Pian” and “Between Sinology and Japanology: Léon de Rosny and Oriental Studies in France”.

After that, nearly 200 experts and scholars from China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, France, New Zealand and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan of China conducted discussions in 10 groups. The topics of discussion included: East Asian Chinese books and the spread of Chinese character culture，research on knowledge transfer and cultural interaction, research on maritime cultural exchange in East Asia, modern language exchange and development, Mohism and the modern world,etc.

The council of Society for Cultural Interaction in East Asia, chaired by Prof. Shen Guowei from Kansai University, was held online before the conference. Prof. Li Yunfu from School of Chinese language and Literature, ZZU was elected as the new president of the Society, and Prof. Muka ku Etsuko of Nishogakusha University in Japan the new vice president. The applications for new membership and the proposal of 2021 Congress were approved.