Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

in Haidian,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China. It is affiliated with the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. The university is part of

Project 211 Project 211 ( zh, c=, links=no, s=211工程) was a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the government of China for "preparing approximately 100 universities for the 21st century", initiated in November 1995. There were 115 ...

and the

Double First-Class Construction The World First-Class Universities and First-Class Academic Disciplines Construction (), together known as Double First-Class Construction (), is a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the Chinese central government, initiated ...

. The International Business School of Beijing Foreign Studies University is accredited from the

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is an American professional and accreditation organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to busines ...

. BFSU alumni are well known in Chinese diplomacy circles such as the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

and the Ministry of State Security.

History

BFSU was affiliated with the

from its establishment in 1941 to the early 1980s. BFSU has more than 3,000 international students from all over the world, more than 100 countries. More than 70 years, over 90,000 people have graduated from the Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Rankings and reputation

BFSU is a

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

specializing in foreign language studies. It is considered one of the most prestigious in its field in the country. BFSU ranked 17th out of almost 3,000 higher education institutions in China according to statistics based on the

Gaokao The Nationwide Unified Examination for Admissions to General Universities and Colleges (), commonly abbreviated as the Gaokao (), is the annual nationally coordinated undergraduate admission exam in mainland China, held in early June. Despite the ...

from 2012 to 2023. , Beijing Foreign Studies University ranked first among universities in China specializing in language studies and research in the recent edition of the

Best Chinese Universities Ranking The Best Chinese Universities Ranking (BCUR) is a domestic ranking table of Chinese institutions of higher education. It is compiled by Shanghai Ruanke, the same agency that is behind the Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Acad ...

. The university consistently features in the top 100 international universities in linguistics as ranked by the

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

by subjects. BFSU is also highly ranked by the world universities rankings in "Arts and Humanities", "Modern Languages", " English Language and Literature" and "Education". The university was ranked first in the Ranking of Chinese Language Universities of the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Rivalry

BFSU has produced an array of senior diplomatic officials and proudly claims itself as "the cradle of PRC diplomats". However, having trained hundreds of Chinese ambassadors,

China Foreign Affairs University China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU; zh, s=外交学院, t=, p=, l=Diplomacy Academy) is a public university of foreign service in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The institute is part of the Double Fir ...

(CFAU) also considers itself "the cradle of Chinese diplomats". Rivalry between students of the two universities continue to present day.

Notable people

Gao Xingjian Gao Xingjian ( zh, 高行健; born January 4, 1940) is a Chinese émigré and later French naturalized novelist, playwright, critic, painter, photographer, film director, and translator who in 2000 was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature, ...

, Chinese French novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature "For an Oeuvre of Universal Validity, Bitter Insights and Linguistic Ingenuity." Graduated from the Department of French. * Jin Liqun, President of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Former Vice President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) *

Thae Yong-ho Tae Yong-ho (; born 25 July 1962), also known by his pseudonym Tae Ku-min (), is a North Korean-born South Korean politician and former diplomat who served as a member of the National Assembly for the Gangnam district of Seoul. After studying a ...

, Member of the

National Assembly (South Korea) The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea () is the Unicameralism, unicameral national legislature of South Korea. Legislative elections in South Korea, Elections to the National Assembly are held every four years. The latest 2024 South Ko ...

. North Korean-born South Korean politician, and former DPRK's deputy

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The first North Korean defector to win a

seat. *

Cui Tiankai Cui Tiankai (; born October 1952) is a Chinese diplomat and was the longest-serving Chinese Ambassador to the United States, a role he filled from April 2013 to June 2021. Early life and education In 1952, Cui was born in Shanghai, China. He ...

, Chinese diplomat and longest-serving Chinese

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

* Yang Lan, co-founder and chairperson of the Sun Media Group and the Sun Culture Foundation *

He Jiong He Jiong ( zh, c=何炅, p=Hé Jiǒng, born 28 April 1974) is a Chinese television host, singer, actor, director and a former Arabic lecturer at Beijing Foreign Studies University. He is best known for co-hosting the Hunan TV variety show '' Ha ...

, ranked 53rd on ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' China Celebrity 100 list *

Hao Ping Hao Ping (; born September 1959) is a Chinese historian and Academic administration, academic administrator who has served as the party secretary of Peking University since June 2022. He served as president of Peking University from 2018 to 2022, ...

, present president of

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

, former president of Beijing Foreign Studies University *

Hu Xijin Hu Xijin (; born 7 April 1960) is a Chinese journalist who previously served as editor-in-chief and Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of ''Global Times'' from 2005 to 2021. Hu is one of the most popular opinion leaders in China. Hu's ...

, former editor-in-chief of ''

Global Times The ''Global Times'' is a daily Chinese Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the ''People's Daily'', commenting on international issues from a Chinese nationalistic pers ...

'' * Xu Guozhang (1915.11.25-1994.9.11), a linguist and educator who made outstanding contributions to China's foreign language education.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Universities and colleges in Haidian District Language schools in China Project 211 Universities and colleges established in 1941 1941 establishments in China 1941 in Beijing Academic language institutions