Following the country's major economic reforms which started in the late 1970s, SISU graduates helped China acquire new knowledge and communicate with the rest of the world. During the 1980s, the school implemented a series of educational reforms to transform the institute into a multidisciplinary university. In 1983, the school launched a degree program in international journalism, the university's first degree that combined foreign language training with another academic discipline.

Li Rui, a former SISU student who majored in Persian and worked in Iran as a Phoenix TV reporter for more than a decade, pointed out that the Iranians' understanding of China 10 years ago was mainly shaped by what was reported in the Western media. Today, the increasing presence of Chinese media in the country has created another means for the people from the two countries to better understand each other.

"I also feel that the Iran government has placed increasing importance to cooperation with China in recent years. Senior government officials of the country have repeatedly mentioned China's Belt and Road Initiative during interviews with me and they have expressed high hopes for China's future and their collaboration with China," she said.