On June 8, 2025, Calvin Chengang FU, Chairman of China Innovation Finance Institute | Chengdu, attended and spoke at the sixth Fudan Forum on Middle Eastern Studies.
As part of the academic celebration series marking the 120th anniversary of Fudan University, the forum was co-hosted by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University and Chinese Association of Middle East Studies, under the theme “Regional Governance and Modernization Paths in the Middle East.” The event brought together over 120 scholars, experts, and postgraduate students from institutions including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Fudan University, Peking University, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, Northwest University, Ningxia University, Inner Mongolia Minzu University, Southwest University, Shanghai University, Shaanxi Normal University, Zhejiang International Studies University, Tongji University, Yunnan University, Xiangtan University, Zhengzhou University, Georgetown University, and China Innovation Finance Institute | Chengdu, among others.
At the opening ceremony, Wu Xinbo, Dean of Institute of International Studies, and Director at the Center for American Studies, Fudan University, and Wang Lincong, President of Chinese Association of Middle East Studies, Deputy Director-General of the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Vice-President of the China-Africa Institute, delivered welcome remarks. Yu Wei, Deputy Director-General of the Bureau III (West Asian and North African Affairs), International Department, Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), delivered a keynote address. The forum was chaired by Sun Degang, Director of Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Assistant to the Dean of Institute of International Studies Fudan University and Research Fellow at Fudan University; Vice-President of Chinese Association of Middle East Studies.
Throughout the plenary sessions and seven parallel sub-forums, senior experts and emerging scholars in Middle East studies held in-depth discussions on how Middle Eastern countries are seeking modernization pathways tailored to their national contexts amid historic global transformations. The forum focused on two core themes: regional governance and modernization in the Middle East, with the goal of contributing original Chinese academic perspectives and policy insights to regional governance and national development in the Middle East.
Calvin Chengang FU, Chairman of China Innovation Finance Institute | Chengdu, participated in the sub-forum on “Middle East Regional Governance” and delivered a speech titled “Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Development of Gulf Financial Markets.” His presentation addressed the development of cross-border integrated financial service infrastructure, the dynamics of China-Arab financial cooperation, and the innovation and evolution of Gulf financial markets.
