Peking University, December 7, 2020: Beijing Forum 2020 kicks off both offline and online on December 5 at Peking University in Beijing, capital city of China, under the theme "The Harmony of Civilizations and Prosperity for All—Globalization under the Impact of the Pandemic: New Challenges and Opportunities".

Beijing Forum 2020 (Photo courtesy of Peking University)

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Beijing Forum 2020, Han Qide, vice chairman of the 10th and 11th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said in his keynote speech that it is our common wish to promote harmony among civilization and prosperity.

Qiu Shuiping, chairman of Peking University Council, presided over the opening ceremony.

Hao Ping, president of Peking University, shared his thoughts on the key missions higher education institutions should uphold in order to drive social progress in face of the pandemic. Hao noted that the universities must seek the development in view of future and reform the education model.

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, extended his best wishes for a fruitful forum and recognized China's progress towards Sustainable Development Goals. He called for the world to learn the lessons from the public health crisis and stressed the importance of international cooperation.

Klaus Schwab, founder of World Economic Forum, shared his thoughts on the theme of the Beijing Forum 2020, and he believes that truth and trust are the most important building stones in the process of seeking harmony.

Park In-kook, president of Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, chaired a keynote speech session online in which five leading figures from academic and medical communities shared insights on the global outlook.

Joseph Stiglitz, who is the winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001, made a keynote speech advocating global cooperation in times of multiple crises.

Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that only when China joins hands with countries around the world to control the global pandemic, we can have a safer social environment.

Beijing Forum 2020 (Photo courtesy of Peking University)

In addition to the main forum, the Beijing Forum 2020 is comprised of eight sub-forums known as the Beijing Forum Webinar Series. The sub-forums dive deeper into a broad range of topics including the Chinese history studies in digital context, healthy China and health communication, international public policies in a turbulent world and more.

Beijing Forum aims to stimulate academic studies and research in the humanities and social sciences throughout the world thereby contributing to human progress.

Beijing Forum, which was initiated in 2004, is held annually. Approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education, and under the auspices of the Beijing Municipal Government, Beijing Forum is an international forum co-sponsored by Peking University, Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, and Chey Institute for Advanced Studies.

Source: Xinhua News