On September 6, the 2020 Taihe Civilizations Forum was launched online by the Taihe Institute. Many eminent guests from China and abroad gathered to share informed views and opinions on the three themes of “The China-U.S. relationship and its impact on the world”, “Maintaining global biosecurity through emerging scientific, technological and innovative mechanisms”, and “Constructing the spectrum of vocational ability of future talents”.

 

The new “Cold War” will be painful not just for China and the U.S. but for the world

 

The China-U.S. bilateral relationship is one of the most important in the world today. Over the past few years, the U.S. has initiated unwarranted confrontation, leading to serious difficulties in China-U.S. relations. This has given rise to the greatest challenge to the bilateral relationship since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. China and the U.S. both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. We should abandon the outdated Cold-War mindset and promote the sound and stable development of bilateral relations.

 

As Stephen Orlins, the President of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations explained, “No matter what my government says and does, there are still many Americans that believe that constructive China-U.S. relations have brought peace, prosperity and stability to Asia for the last four decades. Demonizing China, expelling state-run media, expanding the entity list without explanation, denying Chinese visas without explanation, closing the Houston Consulate, and the possible banning of WeChat and Tiktok, are actions that hurt both China and the U.S.”

 

Wu Hailong, the Lead Research Fellow in International Relations of the Taihe Institute and President of the China Public Diplomacy Association, delivered a speech entitled “China-U.S. relations can still recover, but it depends on both countries to make the right choices”. As he said, “some nationalistic and xenophobic individuals in the U.S. are agitating for confrontation with China, an economic, social and political decoupling and a new ‘Cold War’. If the U.S. genuinely wants this, it will be painful not just for both countries but for the world. I do not believe that the people of either country, or indeed the global community, want this.”

 

In a time of challenges and crises, countries should be more aware that mankind shares a common destiny. As the Distinguished Fellow of the Taihe Institute and Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (2016-2018) Rashid Alimov stated, “A new chance has appeared to reunite the community of nations around a common goal – that of jointly overcoming the coronavirus crisis. After all, the threat to humanity does not stem from individual countries or people, but from a dangerous virus that knows no borders, and does not respect color or racial difference. Humanity needs to draw the right conclusions from the lessons of history, to act together; to mobilize the potential for cooperation in the fields of health, education, food and biosafety.”

 

As Rovshan Muradov, the Founding Secretary-General of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, pointed out, “Reinforcing our commitment to multilateralism, we need to look jointly for global solutions not only to the pandemic but also to other serious challenges like climate change, inequality, international terrorism, organized crime, etc. As we confront these challenges, we do need cooperation through shared universal platforms. The UN as the world’s largest international organization is best placed to achieve this goal.”

 

Let education bring out the full potential of youth

 

As the most active, creative and dynamic force, young leaders are not only a key factor in promoting social progress, but also an important force for tackling global challenges. How to give better play to their creativity and vitality is an essential question today.

 

As Vladimir Norov, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has stated, “It is necessary to continue nurturing and cherishing young talents in order to improve their professional level. More than eight hundred million young people live in the Asian region, which is almost half of all the world’s youth. The leaders of the Asian countries attach great importance to working with young people to guide their energies into creative directions, first and foremost through accessible and high-quality education, to fully realize their individual potential.”

 

Look to technology for safety, and ensure safety through technology.

 

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic is raging around the world, highlighting the threats and challenges to biosecurity. Different countries and regions have acted differently in combating the pandemic. How do we deal with the common threats to human society caused by unexpected worldwide outbreaks of infectious diseases? This is the most serious and practical question we can ask ourselves during the current global pandemic crisis and is an issue that requires a joint effort from all countries in the fields of life science and technology, biosafety early warning, social governance and control, and biotechnology ethics.

 

The Distinguished Fellow of the Taihe Institute and Secretary-General of UNESCO (2009-2017) Irina Bokova noted, “I think this pandemic shows clearly that we need stronger scientific cooperation. We need more connected science. We need science that is more deeply integrated into policy-making. Science flourishes through dialogue, through the interaction of peoples and cultures, and through the meeting of minds. We need ethical science as well.”

 

The grand opening ceremony of the 2020 Taihe Civilizations Forum has been successfully held online. In the following 6 days, experts in various fields from China and abroad will participate in online in-depth exchanges and discussions on related issues. The 2020 Taihe Civilizations Forum will bring together these insights in real time to help build consensus and develop enduring friendships.