At 9:00 on May 19, 2019, the School of Political Science & International Relations (SPSIR) of Tongji University celebrated its 10th anniversary of founding in the lecture hall on the first floor of Yifu Building. Guests attending the celebration included: Prof. Jiang Bo, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of Tongji University, Prof. Bao Xinjian, Vice President of the Chinese Association of Political Science and former Chairman of Shandong Association of Social Sciences, Jia Qingguo, a professor at the School of International Relations of Peking University and a member of the Standing Committee of CPPCC, Prof. Yang Jiemian, President of Shanghai Association for International Studies and Director of the Academic Committee of Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), Ma Depu a professor at Tianjin Normal University and a member of the Political Science Discipline Appraisal Group of the State Council, Liu Yu’an, a professor at Shandong University and a member of the Political Science Discipline Appraisal Group of the State Council, Prof. Sun Jisheng, Secretary-General of China National Association for International Studies (CNAIS) and Vice President of China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU), Prof. Yan Jirong, a Changjiang Scholar and Executive Vice Dean of the School of Government, Peking University, Prof. Sun Tao, Dean of the Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, and other well-known experts and scholars and leaders from various sister institutions, together with Mr. Ouyang Yuanwen, Chairman of Shanghai Tongzheng Construction Technology Group Co., Ltd. All teachers and students of SPSIR witnessed this significant moment together on the scene.

The celebration was moderated by Prof. Xu Hong, Party Secretary of our school. First of all, Secretary Xu introduced the leaders and guests attending this celebration. On this special occasion, SPSIR has received congratulatory letters from more than 50 academic organizations and sister institutions as well as more than 20 partners including the Chinese Association of Political Science, China National Association for International Studies, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Nankai University, Renmin University of China, John Hopkins University, the University of Florence, HNA Group, the Korea Foundation, and the Canon Institute for Global Studies. Secretary Xu, on behalf of all the teachers and students of SPSIR, extended high respect and sincere thanks to all the leaders, colleagues and alumni for their long-term support to the development of SPSIR!

The second agenda of the celebration was a welcome speech by Prof. Jiang Bo. On behalf of Tongji University, Vice President Jiang warmly congratulated the 10th anniversary of the founding of SPSIR. He briefly recalled the founding and development of the humanities and social science in the 112-year history of Tongji. SPSIR has developed and flourished along with the joint efforts across Tongji. He fully affirmed the remarkable achievements made by SPSIR in talent cultivation, teaching, scientific research, foreign exchanges, and social services in the past decade, especially in recent years. Then, Jiang put forward four requirements and suggestions for its future development plan. First, further improve the political stance. Particularly, it should earnestly study and understand the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Second, aim at higher standards. It should strive to develop a first-class school and cultivate first-class talents. Third, take this opportunity of celebrating the 10th anniversary to further innovate the development ideas. It should make innovations in both thinking and practice. Fourth, be upstanding and dauntless. It should continue to work hard in a practical and meticulous manner.

The third agenda was speeches by Prof. Yang Jiemian, Prof. Jia Qingguo, Prof. Bao Xinjian, Prof. Yan Jirong and Prof. Sun Jisheng, on behalf of sister institutions.

Prof. Yang Jiemian first expressed his warm congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the founding of our School on behalf of Shanghai Association for International Studies and Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. He pointed out that a decade of success is the result of the joint efforts of every teacher and student at SPSIR. The development and achievements over the past decade would be impossible without the guidance, care and support of the leaders at Tongji. In the end of his speech, he once again expressed congratulations and expectations to our School with the sentence “I’m happy to see your success in the past decade, and I wish you a greater success in the next decade.”

Then, Prof. Jia Qingguo expressed his heartfelt congratulations to the 10th anniversary, and read the congratulatory letter sent by the School of International Relations of Peking University, wishing our School a better future.

Then, Prof. Bao Xinjian expressed his warm congratulations on our 10th anniversary on behalf of the Chinese Association of Political Science. Prof. Bao fully affirmed our school-running characteristics, and said that he was impressed that we have clear guidelines for management, have distinctive school-running characteristics, have a young faculty team, and have a strong leadership team. He wished us to make more achievements on the ten-year solid foundation!

Afterwards, Prof. Yan Jirong expressed his heartfelt congratulations on our 10th anniversary on behalf of the School of Government of Peking University. Focusing on the future development of political science and the responsibilities of political scientists, he shared three of his insights: The modernization of the national governance system and capacity has provided a new research focus for political science in the new era; Political scientists should affirm the previous achievements, but more importantly, should have a clear attitude towards the future; The modernization of national governance requires comprehensive arguments at rational, scientific, academic and local levels, among which “development” will become the core issue. Prof. Yan looked forward to closer cooperation and exchanges between the two institutions to jointly build the discipline of political science.

Finally, Prof. Sun Jisheng expressed her heartfelt congratulations on behalf of CNAIS to all the faculty, students and alumni of our School. She pointed out that as a key member of CNAIS, Tongji University plays an important role in the association. She looked forward to more exchanges and cooperation with our School in the next decade, including co-hosting some high-level academic activities, to contribute to the development of China’s international studies and talent training.

The fourth agenda was speech by student representative. On behalf of more than 300 students and more than 800 alumni, Wang Xiao, a doctoral student of class 2016, sent blessings and gratitude to SPSIR. He vividly described SPSIR as a teenage with a great ambition, and used four words “courage, perseverance, sincerity and simplicity” to sum up the temperament of SPSIRers. He called for us to stay young and motivated all the way along.

The fifth agenda was a donation ceremony. Under the “Tongji-Tongzheng Education Foundation”, Shanghai Tongzheng Construction Technology Group will fund the professorship, scholarship and fellowship of our School. Tongzheng Chairman Ouyang Yuanwen and Dean Men Honghua exchanged the cooperation agreement.

The donation ceremony was followed by the release of the 10th anniversary commemorative album. In order to celebrate this anniversary, SPSIR has published its academic research results over the past ten years to highlight the characteristics in strategy, governance, and studies by region and country, marking a new start for the future discipline development.

At the end of the celebration, Dean Men Honghua, on behalf of all the teachers and students at SPSIR, first extended high respect and sincere gratitude to the leaders, faculty members, colleagues and alumni for their long-term support to the growth and development of SPSIR. Dean Men then vividly reviewed the development and achievements of SPSIR in the past decade from the four communities of shared future: Chinese nation, Tongji University, the academia, and our School, stressing the importance of national prosperity, academic cooperation, university leadership, and School solidarity. The growth of our School relies on the hard work of all faculty and students, and its development depends on concerted effort and mutual cooperation of all colleagues and alumni. All faculty, students and alumni make a community of shared future at SPSIR.

Finally, Dean Men expressed his eager expectations for the next ten years. SPSIR will continue to take a differentiated development path to strengthen its research characteristics and build an influential research platform featuring China & world studies. It plans to leap forward in the next ten years. It will develop a first-class discipline of political science for Tongji. In the next decade, SPSIR will forge ahead towards the goals under the “Double First-Class” initiative, and connect with domestic colleagues and global elites as well. SPSIR will continue to pursue all-round opening up and win-win cooperation, build up high-end platforms, hold academic activities, implement the teaching reform, innovate academic research, expand foreign exchanges, and provide social services. “Let’s just wait for the flowers to bloom.”  We are convinced that if we work together, we will prosper in the next decade.