A forum on reality and the future from the perspective of Confucianism wrapped up both online and offline on July 8 at the central campus of Shandong University, or SDU – located in Jinan city, in East China’s Shandong province.

The forum was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cultural Office of the Austrian Embassy in China (Beijing).

Scholars from both China and Austria, from their perspective on Confucian studies, discussed the practical significance of Confucianism in the face of contemporary global issues in three main spheres – global environmental protection, artificial intelligence technology and global scientific cooperation.

Dignitaries attending the forum included Alexander Rieger, minister of the Austrian Foreign Ministry and Li Xiaosi, ambassador of the Chinese Embassy to Austria. Others were Jean-Robert Tyran, vice-president of University of Vienna, Wang Xuedian – executive dean of the Advanced Institute for Confucian Studies of Shandong University – and Richard Trappl, dean of the Confucius Institute at the University of Vienna.

Rieger told the event that the current year marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations. He said the forum offered an opportunity to review past developments in dialogue between the two sides and he hoped that the forum could help promote mutual understanding and further deepen dialogues on philosophy and development concepts.

Shandong province was the birthplace of the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. The Advanced Institute for Confucian Studies of Shandong University is currently regarded as the best Confucianism research institute in the world.

The topic of the forum – Confucianism in the view of social science – is also the school's current research focus.