Chatham House visits CCG: A dialogue between international think tanks

The global system remains in a state of flux, from the sudden cancellation of the  2019 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit where the US and China were expected to sign a trade agreement, to the ongoing Brexit saga and rising volatility in the Middle East.

On Oct 23, 2019, the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) hosted a roundtable discussion with Chatham House on the theme “In the context of Brexit, changing  EU leaders and upcoming US election, how can China, UK, EU and US play active roles in safeguarding global governance, economic prosperity and regional security?”

CCG President Wang Huiyao said it was a timely discussion for China, Europe and America’s multilateral trade relations. He brought several questions: In what ways can these countries ensure the stabilization and the continuous construction of the global governance system? How will countries face risks and uncertainties in the future when we presume economic prosperity and social progress? Wang also mentioned that security problems cannot be ignored.

Director of Chatham House Robin Niblett CMG said that Chatham House is always seeking new opportunities to engage in international conversations. He said the roundtable discussion in Beijing was a good chance for the think tank community to have dialogue on suggestions on global governance regarding trade, technology and national security.

Niblett shared views on how the UK can maintain successful development and how the UK can manage a balance between the US and China, which have become key concerns for the UK.

Niblett said that China’s efforts on working with developing countries, climate change and cooperation on high technology and innovation like 5G would be three tests of how Europe can collaborate with China.

Additionally, he raised several questions, including China’s role in WTO reform, the prospects for mutual trust on technological development, and intellectual property.

European and Chinese experts and scholars discussed issues around bilateral relations between the UK and China, China’s role in multilateral development, and the impact of technology and innovation on globalization.

European experts paid attention to China’s role in regional trade agreements, multilateral relations and WTO reform. Opinions were voiced that the UK and China have optimistic prospects for trade cooperation and that China and the US will not “de-couple.”

Chinese experts agreed that global governance can be improved by managing technology and innovation. Furthermore, they re-emphasized China’s active contribution to multilateral relations, advances in economic development, and positive attitude to develop bilateral and multilateral relations.

Experts and scholars also exchanged insights on how the US, UK and other European countries may work with China on security, trade, technology and global institutional infrastructure.

As a leading non-governmental think tank in China, CCG strives to promote the development of China’s bilateral and multilateral relations and contributions to global governance. In this roundtable, CCG provided a platform for experts from the UK, US, EU and China to have a dialogue to discuss how China makes further progress to improve global governance and safeguard the international order.

Participants in this roundtable included Head of the US and Americas Programme and Dean of the Academy for Leadership in International Affairs of Chatham House Leslie Vinjamuri; Associate Fellow of Chatham House, Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London Kerry Brown; Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School Megan Greene; Senior fellow of CCG, Former Director-General of Department of European Affairs in Ministry of Commerce of the PRC Sun Yongfu; Senior fellow of CCG, Former Director-General of Department of American and Oceanian Affairs in Ministry of Commerce of the PRC Jiang Shan; Senior research fellow of CCG Andy Mok; Deputy-Secretary General of CCG Ann Tang; Senior Advisor and Director of China Power Project at CSIS Bonnie Glaser; Senior Director for Academic Programs of Schwarzman Scholars Joan Kaufman; Chair of China’s International Relations in School of East Asian Studies at University of Sheffield, Boeing Chair in International Relations Schwarzman College Katherine Morton; Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow in IISS Alexander Neill and Director of Center for Asia Studies in IFRI Francoise Nicolas.