Roundtable of Global Review Rebuilding Consensus: Multilateralism and China's Approach amidst Turbulence and Transformation

2022/02/25

Under the auspices of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), the Roundtable of Global Review - Rebuilding Consensus: Multilateralism and China's Approach amidst Turbulence and Transformation was held on February 25, 2022 in Shanghai. Up to twenty distinguished guests from over ten countries were invited to participate online to share their wisdom and insights. These guests came from China, Australia, Romania, Japan, ROK, the US, Russia, Indonesia, Singapore, Pakistan, South Africa, India, etc.

 

The opening ceremony was chaired by SIIS President Chen Dongxiao. Keynote speeches were consecutively delivered by H. E. Cui Tiankai, Former Ambassador of the PRC to the US and Prof. Yang Jiemian, Chairman of the International Advisory Council of SIIS.

 

There were two sessions at the roundtable. The themes focused on "multilateralism and transformation of the international system" and "jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind and China's multilateral diplomacy". Topics for discussions included how to promote inclusive multilateralism, China's role in the post-pandemic world, how to reshape the norms of multilateralism amidst the conflict between competition and cooperation, etc.

 

SIIS Vice Presidents Yang Jian and Yan Anlin moderated the first and second sessions respectively. Speakers included Hon. Adrian Năstase, Former Prime Minister of Romania, Prof. Akihiko Tanaka, President of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Dr. Jusuf Wanandi, Vice-chair of Board of Trustees at the CSIS Foundation, Amb. Ong Keng Yong, Executive Deputy Chairman at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Dr. Vladimir Yakunin, Head of the State Policy Department of the Faculty of Political Science at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Amb. Karl Eikenberry, Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Lieutenant General of the US Army (retired), Amb. Sujan Chinoy, Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, Prof. Bates Gill, Macquarie University, Prof. Garth Le Pere, Extraordinary Professor of International Relations at University of Pretoria, Prof. Dan Smith, Director of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Dr. Susan Thornton, Senior Fellow of the Paul Tsai China Center at the Yale University, Amb. Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Director-General of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, Prof. Cui Liru, Senior Advisor for China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations and President Ki-jung Kim, Institute for National Security Strategy, etc.

 

After the two sessions, a presentation on SIIS’s work during 2020-2021 was made by President Chen Dongxiao who shared with the international advisors and distinguished speakers on SIIS’s experiences of expanding academic networks and think tank cooperation, strengthening academic research and output, promoting academic exchanges and dialogues. He also introduced SIIS’s vision for the next few years.

 

A wrap-up of the keynote speeches will be released soon. Please stay tuned.