China's regional and country specific research started relatively late, but its development has been driven by the country's opening-up strategy and the construction of new liberal arts. In 2021, the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council revised the Catalogue of Disciplines and Majors, establishing "Regional Studies" as a first level interdisciplinary field that can award multiple degrees, sparking heated discussions in the academic community.

1、 Historical Tracing of Regional and Country Studies

The historical development of regional and national studies was discussed, and it was pointed out that the establishment of new disciplines often lags behind the exploration of new academic fields. China's regional and national studies have gone through four stages of development: the beginning in the 1960s, the rise after the reform and opening up, the acceleration at the turn of the century, and the growth since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The Ministry of Education and the State Ethnic Affairs Commission have played an important role in promoting the construction of regional and national academic disciplines.

2、 The basic conditions for establishing interdisciplinary disciplines at the first level of regional and national studies

After decades of development, domestic regional and country studies have established research institutions and talent teams, conducted preliminary explorations of disciplinary approaches, and laid the foundation for establishing a first level interdisciplinary field of regional and country studies. From 2011 to 2014, 147 universities across the country established 480 interdisciplinary programs. In 2011, the Ministry of Education launched the Regional Country Research and Development Base Project, and by the end of 2019, more than 420 regional country research centers had been established in universities across the country. In July 2020, the National Postgraduate Education Conference decided to establish interdisciplinary fields as a new category of disciplines. In September, the Ministry of Education and other departments issued opinions to promote the development of interdisciplinary fields. At present, regional studies have been officially established as a first level interdisciplinary field, which helps to integrate academic resources and build a first level disciplinary platform.

3、 The main challenges faced by the establishment of first level interdisciplinary studies in regional and national studies

We discussed the challenges faced in establishing interdisciplinary programs at the regional and national level, including dispersed research resources, difficulties in interdisciplinary integration, insufficient cultivation of multilingual abilities, and weak theoretical research in disciplinary foundations. The research strength of regional and national studies in domestic universities is scattered, the research tends to be formalized, the distribution of research objects is imbalanced, there is a lack of professional personnel, and talent cultivation is mostly focused on cooperation with developed countries or regions. The integration of disciplines is difficult to implement, the ability to apply multiple languages is lacking, the cultivation of talents in a single discipline is still mainstream, and the excessive emphasis on disciplinary boundaries has led to a fragmented knowledge system. Regional and national studies require the integration of different disciplines, the cultivation of multilingual abilities, and the avoidance of the drawbacks of centrism. The construction of disciplines is relatively lagging behind, basic theoretical research is weak, and the content of professional degree courses in universities is limited, lacking textbooks and systems. There is a disconnect between basic theoretical research and application strategy research, making it difficult to propose effective policy recommendations.

4、 The perfect path for establishing interdisciplinary disciplines at the first level of regional and national studies

Discussed the improvement path for the establishment of interdisciplinary disciplines at the regional and national level. Firstly, it emphasizes the integration of existing research forces, innovative talent cultivation models, including universities and think tanks actively applying for national social science fund projects, focusing on cooperation between local regional and national research centers and foreign authoritative research centers, avoiding the dispersion of research forces, establishing stable full-time research teams, and cultivating scholars with international perspectives and solid disciplinary foundations. Secondly, we should implement interdisciplinary integration, cultivate multilingual application abilities, emphasize the importance of foreign languages in regional and country studies, and suggest that non foreign language colleges form disciplinary characteristics according to local conditions. Foreign language colleges should adopt a "foreign language+major" training program to expand the scope of foreign language learning. Finally, we will establish a new interdisciplinary system, strengthen basic theoretical research, draw on the historical traditions of disciplinary development, focus on practicality and practical value, explore the establishment of secondary disciplines, integrate different disciplines to participate in regional and national research, and highlight the important significance of disciplines in the new situation. The article points out that the construction of regional studies disciplines in China needs to respond to the practical needs of national development, take into account the practical needs of higher education reform, continuously improve the discipline system, deeply interpret the connotation of disciplines, explore theoretical and methodological innovations based on interdisciplinary studies, consolidate the foundation of disciplines, and promote outstanding achievements in disciplines.