The Sixth Annual Conference of “North Pavilion Dialogue” held
Nov 14, 2019
Peking University, Nov. 5, 2019: From October 29 to 31, the sixth annual conference of “North Pavilion Dialogue” was held in North Pavilion, the office building of Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Peking University. Sponsored by both School of International Studies and Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Peking University, the annual conference of “North Pavilion Dialogue” invited former domestic and foreign dignitaries and celebrated experts to jointly explore the prospect of international situations and world politics.
This year, “North Pavilion Dialogue” revolves around the topic, “Disintegration in a Globalizing World”, with the focus on the causes and circumstances of the gradual disintegration and how various countries deal with this problem. The advance of science and technology as well as the development of economic globalization not only promotes the prosperity of world economy, but also intensifies global socio-economic inequality. Meanwhile, as the large-scale population movement brings to light the politics of identity, and nationalism and populism alike are prevailing around the world, there exists an introversive tendency in national politics. Besides, other multi-layered causes have, in recent years, contributed to the increasing differentiation and disintegration in world politics, including the shifting of balance between great powers, poor domestic governance within certain countries, special character of certain political leaders, and etc. In the international situation of growing unrest, it is more significant to emphasize the stabilizing elements, such as great powers’ sense of responsibility, discipline, and fair competition, diplomatic quality, and national leadership. Under the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences, it is necessary to strengthen the international security regime based on multilateralism, common security, and cooperative security, to advocate the free trade system, and to encourage the multilateral cooperation confronted with the common challenges like environment and climate.
12 foreign guests attended this conference, including Kevin Rudd, former prime minister of Australia; Joseph Nye, Jr., former assistant secretary of defense and former chair of U.S. National Intelligence Council; David Miliband, former foreign secretary of United Kingdom; Shivshankar Menon, former international security adviser of India.
Dai Bingguo, former state councilor of China, attended this conference, made in-depth exchanges with the foreign guests, and delivered a summarizing speech. Fu Ying, chair of Center for International Strategy and Security, Tsinghua University, Chen Xiaogong, former deputy director of Central Office of Foreign Affairs, and other domestic guests and experts also participated in the meeting.
This conference includes a one-and-a-half-day private meeting and a half-day open forum. During the private meeting, the conferees centered on a number of major strategies and hot spots, such as the question whether the world moves towards unrest and fragmentation, the position and prospect of Asia, the differentiating forces in Europe and the Middle East, and etc.
On the afternoon of October 31, the open forum “Disintegration in a Globalizing World” was held. Joseph Nye, Jr., Thierry de Montbrial, president of French Institute for International Relations, and other guests had enthusiastic discussions pertaining to the topic, with in-depth interactions with audience.
In addition, invited by Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Peking University, a couple of foreign guests delivered lectures. On the afternoon of October 29, Kim Sung-Hwan, former South Korean foreign minister, delivered a lecture at North Pavilion titled “Is Regional Security Architecture in Northeast Asia Possible?”. On the morning of November 1, Andrey Kortunov, director of Russian International Affairs Council, gave a lecture at North Pavilion named “The Coming Competition between China and the United States: What Does It Mean for Russia?”.
Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Peking University, was formally established in October, 2013, Dai Bingguo as the Honorary President. The annual conference of “North Pavilion Dialogue” has been held since 2014.
Written by: Zhou Meng
Edited by: Ma Yaoli
Source: PKU News (Chinese)