On December 26, the 39th session of the "Cooperation and Development" lecture series was successfully held at the Qingdao Campus. Co-hosted by the School of Political Science and Public Administration, SCO Research Institute, Institute of Public Security, and China-SCO Economic and Trade College of Shandong University, this session invited Professor Song Haiyan as the keynote speaker. Professor Song is a Chair Professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Chan Chak Fu & Chan Yuk Fu Professor in International Tourism, and Associate Dean of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management. The theme of his lecture was "The Belt and Road and Tourism Integration — Reshaping Global Connectivity". Edmund Sheng, Distinguished Professor of Shandong University, Taishan Scholar Distinguished Expert, and Executive Dean of the SCO Research Institute, presided over the lecture. More than 30 teachers and students from the School of Political Science and Public Administration and the School of Law attended the academic exchange.

During the keynote speech session, based on the global perspective of the Belt and Road Initiative, Professor Song Haiyan went beyond the traditional perspective of trade routes and creatively proposed the theoretical framework of "the Belt and Road and Tourism Integration". He pointed out that tourism has become a crucial yet often overlooked dimension in the Belt and Road Initiative. It is the largest socio-economic platform connecting Asia, Africa and Europe, covering 65% of the global population, and more importantly, a key field for promoting people-to-people bonds and soft power projection.

During the interactive Q&A session, teachers and students on site conducted in-depth discussions with Professor Song Haiyan on cutting-edge issues such as data standardization for cross-border tourism and the impact of the digital divide on underdeveloped regions. In his summary, Edmund Sheng spoke highly of Professor Song Haiyan's academic contributions, noting that with a grand strategic perspective and detailed empirical data, the lecture not only revealed the dual attributes of tourism as an "economic engine" and a "peace envoy", but also provided a highly forward-looking analytical paradigm of "the Belt and Road and Tourism Integration" for understanding the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

This lecture offered valuable insights for teachers and students to explore interdisciplinary research on digital economy, international relations and tourism management under the background of new liberal arts.