Forum pools wisdom for pandemic fight

中国与全球化智库 2020-08-25

The opening of the Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19－a videoconference for overseas participants－was held in Beijing on Tuesday. FENG YONGBIN/CHINA DAILY

Participants in an international online forum that brought together global think tanks have called on the international community to strengthen solidarity and cooperation－the most forceful weapon in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement they released on Wednesday.

Influential analysts from 48 countries and nine international organizations agreed that deepening information sharing, boosting support for developing nations, ensuring vaccine accessibility worldwide and mitigating economic fallout are among key actions needed to promote an urgently needed global collaboration mechanism, the statement said.

They also appealed to governments around the world to shoulder the responsibility of protecting their own people and simultaneously contribute to global efforts against the virus.

"We believe that strengthening prevention and control and safeguarding people's lives and health are of paramount importance, and that all countries should live up to their responsibilities for their people and promote global cooperation against COVID-19," the joint statement said.

It also stressed that major infectious diseases are the common enemy of humanity, and the lives and health of all people are now closely entwined in an unprecedented way.

The statement called for supporting the leadership role of the World Health Organization and intensifying sharing of control policies, treatment methods and scientific research.

The equal right to life and health for all countries, races and social groups should be guaranteed, and more comprehensive supportive resources should be delivered while avoiding discrimination and prejudice, it said.

In response to long-term challenges from the pandemic, such as addressing shortcomings in global governance and reining in global inequality, the statement called for a scientific and rational perspective to tackle issues head on and in united action.

The two-day forum, named "Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19", brought together over 160 analysts or representatives from think tanks and media outlets around the world to discuss how to increase global cooperation and build a global community of health for all.

Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19 opens in Beijing on June 9, 2020. Xu Lin, vice-minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and minister of the State Council Information Office, makes a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. More than 160 think tanks and media representatives from 48 countries and nine international organizations used a video link to exchang in-depth views on strengthening solidarity and cooperation among countries and building a community of human health. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Five Chinese research institutions including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and five foreign institutions based in Russia, Argentina, South Africa, Belgium and the United Kingdom, jointly hosted the event.

Following its opening and plenary meeting on Tuesday, four sub-forums on economic recovery, public health governance, balancing control and social and economic development, and challenges in international cooperation, were held on Wednesday.

In the keynote speech on Tuesday night, an official from the State Council Information Office said that facing the unexpected, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have made its people and their lives the top priority, and President Xi Jinping has taken personal command and planned the response. He said China has always stood with other countries and fought shoulder to shoulder with them.

Ban Ki-moon, chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia and former secretary-general of the United Nations, said in a message that Xi proposed measures to consolidate global efforts during this year's World Health Assembly in May, which Ban called an admirable act. "Upholding the notion of a community of a shared future and joining hands to fight together is the right tonic," he said.

During the opening, Stjepan Mesic, former president of Croatia, thanked China for providing humanitarian aid to a number of foreign countries and for stepping up donations to the WHO, which will help foster global values in solidarity and cooperation.

Zeng Peiyan, chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and former vice-premier, urged the reduction of politicization, finger-pointing and Cold War mentality, and called for more science-based discussions, partnerships and united action.

"The issue regarding the origin of the virus must be taken with a rational and fact-based mind. Such scientific questions must not be taken lightly," he said. "It is crucial that we share knowledge and work together to create effective vaccines, as well as coordinate macroeconomic policies and toughen up the global industry chain," he said.

Yasuo Fukuda, the former Japanese prime minister, said some countries are preoccupied with shifting blame and directing criticism, which has deepened distrust and constitutes what he said is the largest obstacle in stimulating global action.

"Short-term compromise can be made in order to achieve a long-term balance of interests, build mutually trustworthy partnerships and promote awareness of interdependence," he said. "This also lies at the core of the notion of a community of a shared future for all mankind."

Yasuo Fukuda, former Japanese prime minister, makes a speech at the Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19 held in Beijing, on June 9, 2020. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Zeng Peiyan, chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and former Chinese vice premier, delivers a speech at the Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19held in Beijing, on June 9, 2020. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhong Nanshan, a prominent respiratory disease expert makes a speech at the opening ceremony of the Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19 held in Beijing, on June 9, 2020. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Yukio Hatoyama, former Japanese prime minister, delivers a speech at a sub-forum of the Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19 held in Beijing, on June 10, 2020. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Du Zhanyuan (left), president of China International Publishing Group, and Gao Anming (right), vice president of China International Publishing Group, attend the Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19 held in Beijing, on June 10, 2020. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/chinadaily.com.cn]

Liu Wei, president of Renmin University of China, makes a speech at a sub-forum of the Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19 held in Beijing, on June 10, 2020. [Photo by Zhang Wei/chinadaily.com.cn]

Essam Sharaf, the former prime minister of Egypt, makes a keynote speech at a sub-forum of the Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19 held in Beijing, on June 10, 2020. [Photo by Zhang Wei/chinadaily.com.cn]

Danny Alexander, AIIB's vice-president and corporate secretary makes a speech on a sub-forum of the Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19 held in Beijing, on June 10, 2020. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization, hosts a sub-forum at the Global Think Tanks Online Forum on International Cooperation to Combat COVID-19 held in Beijing, on June 10, 2020. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

From China Daily, 2010-6-11

CCG Books

● Published by Edward Elgar

● Edited by Wang Huiyao, President and Miao Lu, Vice President, Center for China and Globalization(CCG), Beijing, China

More Information

An excellent guide for understanding the trends, challenges and opportunities facing China through globalization, this Handbook answers the pertinent questions regarding the globalization process and China’s influence on the world.

With contributions from leading experts and international researchers, each chapter covers key topics regarding China’s participation in globalization, including: China’s new role in global economic governance; outward direct investment; China’s soft power and the implications for foreign relations; global migration, diaspora and talent. An enriching range of case studies and extensive empirical research are used to explore the successes and failures of globalization in China, and to discuss the dilemmas facing decision makers in today’s globalized world. A major contribution to the field, this Handbook offers valuable insights to China’s often misunderstood globalization process.

An essential reference for academics and researchers looking for a go-to empirical resource, this Handbook provides scholars of economics, politics and East Asian studies with an exemplary selection of contemporary research on China and globalization.

● Links：

https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-on-china-and-globalization

● Published by Springer

● Authors: Wang Huiyao, President and Miao Lu, Vice President, Center for China and Globalization(CCG), Beijing, China

The first effort to address the gap regarding higher-end talent within the scholarly work on internal labor migration in China

Provides an essential overview of the major milestones in China’s talents attraction policies, as well as several recommendations to help further improve those policies

Investigates corresponding policies in Germany, Japan, and Singapore to serve as a basis for comparison

Provides a snapshot of first-hand reference material for relevant stakeholders involved in cooperation with China

More Information

This book offers the most comprehensive, up-to-date assessment of China’s domestic and international migration. Restructuring economic development requires large numbers of educated and skilled talents, but this effort comes at a time when the size of China’s domestic workforce is shrinking. In response, both national and regional governments in China have been keen to encourage overseas Chinese talents and professionals to return to the country. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has initiated a number of policies to attract international highly-skilled talents and enhance the country’s competitiveness, and some Chinese policies have started attracting foreign talents, who are coming to the country to work, and even to stay. Since Chinese policies, mechanisms, and administration efforts to attract and retain skilled domestic or overseas talents are helping to reshape China’s economy and are significantly affecting the cooperation on migration and talent mobility, these aspects, in addition to being of scholarly and research interest, hold considerable commercial potential.

● Links：

https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811362552#aboutBook

Other CCG News:

In this together: China-EU relations in the COVID-19 era

Role of Chinese and American enterprises in the pandemic

A Looming Food Crisis on Top of the Coronavirus Crisis

How will business respond to headwinds of the pandemic?

China-India cooperation in fighting COVID-19

Wang Huiyao: Rising to challenges

Technology & Coronavirus: Lessons and proposals from China & US

The role of the WTO in fighting COVID-19

How is COVID-19 impacting international education?