From June 13 to 15, 2025, the city of Xi'an (People's Republic of China) hosted the International Academic Conference titled "Central Asian Studies from the Perspective of Area Studies", organized by the Institute of Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in cooperation with leading universities of Central Asia and China.

One of the organizers of the conference from Kazakhstan was Professor Fatimabibi Nogaiqyzy Daulet, who represented Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

The KazNU delegation also included: Acting Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Chinese Studies Yerzhan Kerimbaev, as well as Senior Lecturers Aizhan Koibakova, Gulmira Katbayeva, and Ardak Kaliolla. Other faculty members of the department, along with doctoral and master's students, participated in the conference in an online format.

Speaking at the plenary session, Head of the Department Yerzhan Kerimbaev presented an overview of the development stages of Sinology in Kazakhstan, emphasizing the role of Al-Farabi KazNU as a leading institution in training highly qualified specialists in Chinese language, culture, and translation. He also highlighted the importance of academic partnerships and integration into global scientific initiatives.

Professor Fatimabibi Daulet gave a presentation introducing the emerging research school at the Department of Chinese Studies, which focuses on linguocultural and cognitive aspects of translation. Her research centers on translation as a form of cultural transmission that requires a deep understanding of mental and pragmatic codes embedded in the source text.

Gulmira Katbayeva, based on her doctoral dissertation, spoke about strategies for translating ethnocultural units in literary texts, with emphasis on preserving national imagery, symbolism, and cultural depth during interlingual adaptation.

Aizhan Koibakova dedicated her presentation to the translation of onomastic terms from Chinese, exploring methods of rendering proper names, geographical designations, and culturally significant references within the Kazakh linguistic and cultural context.

The faculty members of the Department of Chinese Studies delivered their presentations in Chinese, which enabled direct academic dialogue with scholars from China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and other countries. Their contributions sparked great interest and enthusiastic responses from the international academic community, affirming the high level of professionalism and scholarly expertise of Kazakh Sinologists.

Participation in this high-profile international forum further strengthened the status of the Department of Chinese Studies at KazNU as a center of Sinological thought in Central Asia and made a significant contribution to the development of international academic cooperation.

Press-service of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University