More than 100 experts and scholars from nearly 30 universities from around the world attended the 4th Presidents' Forum of the Global Alliance of Foreign Studies Universities held at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) on Thursday.

Themed "mission of foreign language disciplines and area studies in the age of artificial intelligence", the forum was held by SISU and Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).

During the forum, participants discussed about topics like basic research on foreign languages and literature, cross disciplinary research on foreign languages, and literature in the age of artificial intelligence.

Jiang Feng, Party secretary of SISU, said that although the world is facing new challenges brought by the constant evolution of artificial intelligence, languages still play an important role in linking different countries and ethnic groups.

Established in 2017, the Global Alliance of Foreign Studies Universities was formed by 37 institutions of higher education with an edge in foreign language teaching and research.

The alliance council meeting and the presidents' forum are held once every two years. The 5th Presidents' Forum of the alliance will be held at Sichuan International Studies University in 2025.