1 Introduction

This section highlights the central role of higher foreign language education in building a strong educational nation, noting that its value functions and focal points have shifted in response to the new requirements of educational nation-building. Using Beijing Foreign Studies University's "Double First-Class" initiative as a case study, the article explores how higher foreign language education can adapt to the demands of the new era, innovate practical pathways, restructure disciplinary development frameworks, enhance its capacity to serve national strategies, contribute to China's role in global governance and knowledge system construction, and promote mutual understanding between China and the world.

2 The Major Shift in the Value Functions of Higher Foreign Language Education in the New Era

This section discusses the significant transformation in the value functions of higher foreign language education in the new era. As China's central position on the world stage grows increasingly prominent, the mission of higher foreign language education has evolved from introducing the world to China to introducing China to the world, serving national strategies such as the Belt and Road Initiative and global governance, and advancing the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. This shift is reflected in three core value functions: first, transitioning from cultivating single-skilled foreign language professionals to fostering interdisciplinary international talents; second, shifting from importing foreign language education theories to constructing a foreign language education system with Chinese characteristics; and third, moving from introducing the world to China to using multilingual capabilities to better introduce China to the world. The section emphasizes the importance of international communication, noting that the development of global media provides opportunities to challenge Western linguistic hegemony, necessitating the use of target-country languages to tell China's stories well. Additionally, in response to the demands of global governance, China urgently needs high-level, interdisciplinary international talents. Finally, the section underscores the significance of building an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, in which higher foreign language education plays a pivotal role by constructing China's own disciplinary, academic, and discursive systems for foreign language education.

3 Concepts and Practices Leading the Shift in the Value Functions of Higher Foreign Language Education

This section discusses how Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), against the backdrop of the new era, is leading the transformation of higher foreign language education's value functions through its "Double First-Class" initiative to meet the new expectations and requirements of building a strong educational nation. BFSU is committed to becoming a model hub for foreign language education reform and development, a strategic base for multilingual construction and international talent cultivation, a new think tank, and a vital platform for cultural exchanges between China and the world. Centered on the theme of "What Can Foreign Languages Contribute to Nation-Building?" BFSU undertakes national strategic language construction tasks, promotes the integration of artificial intelligence into foreign language education, and fosters new global frameworks for languages, cultures, and governance, serving the Belt and Road Initiative and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

In restructuring the landscape of foreign language disciplines, BFSU actively responds to General Secretary Xi Jinping's directives on cultivating foreign language talents by constructing new development frameworks, accelerating the strategic layout of foreign language programs, and nurturing interdisciplinary talents with patriotism, global perspectives, and professional expertise. BFSU advances the "Three Introductions" initiative for multilingual versions of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, implements the national language strategy "101 Project," innovates in cultivating multilingual international communication talents, achieves comprehensive coverage of foreign languages, compiles and publishes foreign language textbooks, develops online courses, establishes the China University Foreign Languages MOOC Alliance and platform, and builds the "Multilingual Global Specialized Literature Resource Center."

In promoting educational openness, BFSU carries out the CREATE Global Action Plan, advancing global development strategies across the board to enhance its capacity to serve national global strategies, the global competitiveness of its scholars, the global competence of its students, and the international influence of the university. BFSU expands collaborations with world-class universities and top institutions in non-commonly taught language countries, promotes Sino-foreign joint training programs, extends dual-degree programs, and supports students in participating in international volunteer teaching, cultural exchanges, and internships at international organizations. BFSU has signed exchange and cooperation agreements with over 300 universities and academic institutions in more than 80 countries and regions, sending an average of 1,000 students abroad annually.

BFSU also engages in organized research to advance the construction of an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese foreign language education. It develops theories of Chinese foreign language education, builds a national language capacity system, explores the construction of an international discourse system for cultural dissemination, and establishes a multilingual academic journal matrix to strengthen China's academic discourse power and international influence. BFSU edits and publishes 44 Chinese and foreign-language academic journals and collections, covering multiple languages, to facilitate dialogue between Chinese and international academia, construct China's international academic discourse system, and expand the global academic influence of Chinese scholars.

4 Conclusion

This section emphasizes that the value functions of higher foreign language education are closely tied to the needs of the times. Beijing Foreign Studies University plays a leading role in the field of higher foreign language education, serving national strategies, upholding tradition while innovating, and fulfilling its historical mission. Facing the three major shifts in the value functions of higher foreign language education, BFSU transcends language boundaries to open new domains and pathways, reconstruct new functions, and highlight new value, guided by the logic of global languages, global cultures, and global governance. In the future, BFSU will continue to prioritize serving national strategies, drive the innovative development of higher foreign language education, and make unique contributions in cultivating high-level interdisciplinary international talents, researching and interpreting Chinese and world cultures, forming Chinese discourse and narrative systems, and actively participating in global governance.