Chen Yarong
Dr. Yarong Chen is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Global and Area Studies, Capital Normal University, China. Her research explores the historical relationship between UNESCO and China, with broader interests in diplomatic history of Modern China, the global history of international organizations, and art history. Her recent works have appeared in peer reviewed journals. She has recently completed her monograph China and UNESCO, 1945-1971 (Routledge, 2026).
Capital Normal University
Session
This panel examines cross-border encounters, entanglements, and comparisons between China and the West from historical, conceptual, and social perspectives. Bringing together research in intellectual history, comparative politics, global history, art history, and migration studies, the panel explores how ideas, institutions, and practices have circulated across different regions and periods. The papers address the cross-cultural interpretations of the ancient Chinese “Chaogong” in Western scholarship and reflects on the concept of the “tribute system”, contrasting trajectories of nation-building in China and the Balkans, mutual learning between China and Yugoslavia, the exhibition of Chinese art through UNESCO during the Cold War, and Chinese migration to Italy in relation to labor, family, and community formation. Taken together, the panel highlights the interconnected and relational character of China–West interactions, and shows how comparison, exchange, and mutual perception have shaped broader historical processes across political, cultural, and social domains.