After a preliminary review, the National Language Commission has decided to establish a research base, the Belt and Road Language Ecology Research Center. The center will be jointly built and managed by the Department of Language and Characters Information Management of the Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Province, and Zhejiang Normal University. The project is planning a construction period of September 1, 2023 to September 1, 2028.

The construction of the Center fully relies on the location of Zhejiang as a major hub of the Belt and Road and the expertise of Zhejiang Normal University in relevant disciplines—with particular focus on the language and culture, language policies, as well as language and cultural exchanges and mutual exchanges with countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

According to the needs of business development, combined with expert review opinions, the Center will be designed with four points of focus: First, to further condense the research mission of the center, and strengthen the study of language and writing along the BRI; secondly, to make full use of the university’s scientific research expertise in the fields related to the BRI, with particular focus on African studies and international Chinese education; third is to actively develop exchanges and cooperation with relevant international organizations, national institutions, and regional organizations, guided by the study of language ecology, and to promote the achievements to better serve the international presence of the country; fourth is to strengthen policy support and institutional guarantees, establish a sustainable and incentive-oriented scientific research evaluation system, strengthen platform collaborative innovation, and promote organized scientific research and the cultivation of outstanding talents. (Source: Zhejiang Normal University, English text edited by Kendra Fiddler)