Welcome to
The Beijing Center

Since 1998, when Ron Anton, S.J., founded it, The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies has worked to build bridges of understanding and dialogue between China and the rest of the world. We stand in a long Jesuit tradition that holds a simple conviction: real cultural engagement begins with friendship.

That tradition has a face. Matteo Ricci, S.J. (利玛窦), reached Beijing in 1601 after nearly two decades of learning China’s language and classics. His friendship with the scholar Xu Guangqi (徐光启) became one of the great partnerships of intellectual history: they learned from each other, and together translated Euclid into Chinese. Mutual respect, shared work, and lasting friendship remain our model.

Today we pursue that model in several ways. Our semester and summer programs give students from around the world an immersive start in China. ChinaContact® brings customized, faculty-led programs to China for focused encounters. Through conferences, publications from TBC Press, and our engagement in the global Jesuit network, we host conversations that neither side could have alone.

The Anton Library began with 70 books in 1998 and now holds more than 27,000 English-language books on China, the largest such collection in mainland China. Two special collections trace how the West came to know China: the Rita Liu Cartographical Collection of maps (1584-1837) and the Lady Ivy Wu Book Collection of rare travel accounts (1667-1787). The library’s catalog is searchable online.

In 27 years, more than 3,500 students and scholars have begun or deepened their engagement with China here. Whether this is your first step or one of many, we look forward to welcoming you.

Simon Koo, Ph.D.
Executive Director