The 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) was held in Beijing from September 9 to 13. Under the overall theme of “Education Empowers the Nation, Intelligence Creates the Future,” the Education Services exhibition was in Hall 8 of Shougang Park. As a flagship program showcasing the success of the “Study Abroad in Beijing” initiative, Yenching Academy presented at the exhibition, highlighting the practices and outcomes of its master’s program in China Studies over the past 12 years.
Ren Youqun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education paid a visit to Peking University’s booth to learn more about PKU’s international education and YCA’s China Studies program. Ren candidly spoke with the student representatives at the booth.
On September 4, Dean Dong Qiang introduced the Yenching Academy two-year master’s program at the 2026 CIFTIS Education Services Section Media Briefing.
Established in 2014, Yenching Academy draws on PKU’s academic strength in humanities and social sciences and has welcomed a total of 1,183 students from 89 countries and regions. Over the years, graduates from 412 world-class universities and colleges in China and abroad, including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, and Sciences Po have become Yenching Scholars. The Academy has established partnerships with 115 universities from 32 countries and has developed a multicultural community of young talents from diverse cultural backgrounds who immerse themselves in PKU’s international atmosphere and learn from each other. Each cohort of the Academy draws students from 30 t0 40 countries and regions.
Yenching Academy is renowned for its interdisciplinary master’s program that offers both rigorous academic training and hands-on experience. Since its inception, the Academy has opened approximately 50 courses taught by over 70 teachers from various PKU faculties within humanities and social sciences disciplines. A total of 170 advisors has provided guidance for students’ MA dissertations in China Studies. YCA has also integrated field study trips in its curriculum centered on Chinese culture, enabling the students to see and experience China in the trips across 32 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, and Hong Kong SAR. The Yenching Global Symposium (YGS) is an annual flagship event organized by Yenching Scholars and receives thousands of applications every year. YGS offers a global platform for young talents to engage in dialogue on China. As a pioneer in international education at PKU, Yenching Academy has developed a distinct interdisciplinary model and fulfilled its commitment to fostering a new generation of global citizens who see the world from both Chinese and international perspectives; these Scholars have a profound knowledge of mutual learning between civilizations.
On September 10, the PKU booth received several distinguished guests, including Ren Youqun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education; Yu Yingjie, of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Education Working Committee; Li Junfeng, Deputy Secretary of the Education Working Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee (at full director-general level); Li Yi, Deputy Secretary of the Education Working Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Director of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission; and SCO Deputy Secretary-General Sohail Khan. In late August, Ren also paid a field visit to Yenching Academy.
Ren Youqun and Sohail Khan joined a talk with Boi Ngoc Thai (Vietnam) and Jamie Reintjes (USA). The two Yenching Scholars shared their experience of interdisciplinary study, field trips, and how they immerse themselves in the multicultural life in Beijing. They presented Ren and Khan with two YCA-published books—Scholarly Symphony: Young Voices from the Yenching Classroom and China and the World: Observation Analysis Prospect—as gifts.
Thai and Reintjes gave interviews with the Integrated Media Center under the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, sharing about their studies and life at YCA, as well as the outcomes of their academic research and fieldwork. Their experience is exemplary of how PKU international students study China in China through rigorous academic training and field study. At PKU and Yenching Academy, they learn to examine China and the world from Chinese and international perspectives.
At the fair, staff of PKU Office of International Relations and Yenching Academy introduced PKU’s international admissions policy, curriculum system, and international student services, demonstrating that Peking University’s international education is not only rooted in the Chinese soil but also open to the world.
Several media outlets, including the Integrated Media Center under the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, Modern Education News, China Business Journal, Beijing Business Today, and Beijing Radio & Television Station reported on the presence of PKU and YCA at CIFTIS, showcasing international students’ experience at PKU. Yenching Academy will continue to enhance its master’s program in China Studies and contribute to the “Study Abroad in Beijing” brand to advance global engagement in education as well as cultural exchange between China and other countries.
