China Foreign Affairs University

China Foreign Affairs University is the only higher education institution under China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dedicated to training professionals in diplomacy, foreign affairs, international studies, international economic affairs and law. It was established in 1955 at Premier Zhou Enlai’s personal initiative.

It is authorized to award doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees. Diplomacy, International Relations and International Law are its strongest programs.

Over more than fifty years since its establishment, it has educated nearly 40000 Chinese students of various categories, supplying many outstanding professionals for diplomacy, foreign affairs and international studies in the People’s Republic of China. These graduates have made major contributions to China’s diplomatic development. It has approximately 2900 full-time Chinese students in 2026 and is known as “the cradle of Chinese diplomats.” On January 2, 2025, with approval from the CPC Central Committee, the Research Center for a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity was formally established at the university.

In the 1950s, it trained a substantial group of international students from Eastern European countries. Many later became ambassadors, other senior diplomats or international affairs experts. It resumed international student admissions in the 1980s and has approximately 130 international students from over 60 countries in 2026.

It is also commissioned by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and other departments to provide regular training courses for foreign diplomats and journalists. Training covers Chinese language, international relations, diplomacy, Chinese national conditions, news media and other areas. From 1994 through the end of 2025, it trained more than 4000 people from approximately 160-plus countries. In 2008, the State Council approved it as one of the first five national foreign assistance training bases.

It is a member of the International Forum on Diplomatic Training and attends its annual meeting of heads of diplomatic academies. Since 2003, it has held the China Foreign Affairs University Forum periodically, inviting renowned Chinese and international experts, scholars and leaders to deliver reports and lectures.

Its old campus, Zhanlan Road Campus, is in central Beijing between the West Second and West Third Ring Roads, approximately 7 kilometers from Tiananmen. Nearby cultural and leisure venues include Beijing Exhibition Center, Mei Lanfang Grand Theatre, Capital Indoor Stadium and the National Library of China. It offers a quiet, attractive campus with convenient living and transport.

In September 2012, it opened its new Shahe Campus in Beijing’s Changping Higher Education Park, approximately 30 kilometers from the city center, with an attractive environment and comprehensive facilities. First-, second- and third-year undergraduates and first-year master’s students currently study and live at Shahe.