CCG holds Sixth Annual China Global Think Tank Innovation Forum

Beijing, 7 December 2021. The Sixth Annual China Global Think Tank Innovation Forum 2021 brought together international delegates from academia, think tanks, and NGOs from more than 10 countries to exchange insights on key issues of international relations and innovative ways of developing global think tanks. This forum was hosted by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and co-organized by the State Grid Energy Research Institute. The Beijing Dongyu Globalization Think Tank Foundation, Our Hong Kong Foundation, The Asia Foundation, and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung were partners for the event.

The Sixth Annual China Global Think Tank Innovation Forum 2021 included one special opening dialogue, a special opening webinar, an organizer’s welcome, three themed panels, a special closing dialogue, and the CCG Executive Summit, combined with online and in-person forums.

The special opening dialogue “Think tanks and American foreign policy” featured John Hamre, President of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to dialogue with Wang Huiyao, President of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG). This dialogue stressed the significant role of global think tanks in promoting Track II diplomacy during the difficult time of the pandemic.

After the special opening dialogue, Wang Huiyao, President of the Center for China and Globalization, delivered his welcoming remarks. He said that The Sixth Annual China Global Think Tank Innovation Forum aims to promote the exchange of ideas, forge consensus among global think tanks, and seek innovative solutions for global challenges. This year’s forum revolved around the topic of how think tanks can achieve sustainable and innovative development amidst the pandemic. The responsibility of promoting transcultural understanding and enhancing the effectiveness of international communication falls on the shoulder of new era think tanks.

Gao Anming, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of China International Publishing Group delivered a keynote address at CCG. He stressed three points, namely that think tanks should be a voice of rationality, demonstrate inclusivity, and promote more effective cooperation on the global stage.

The following special opening webinar revolved around the topic of “Meeting global challenges through innovation: Cross-Pacific think tank perspectives” and featured renowned representatives from Chinese and American think tanks. Panelists achieved the consensus that global think tanks and NGOs should work as a specific channel and platform to provide support for international communication. In the future, think tanks and NGOs should play a more important role in Track II diplomacy.

In the following four panels, guests are invited to exchange insights on four different topics. In the first panel on Fostering people-to-people exchange after Covid-19: The role of think tanks and NGOs in the changing global context, panelists voiced the opinion that think tanks and NGOs should bridge cultural communication among different countries, and further provide support on global issues.

In the second panel, Innovative messaging, storytelling, and policy narratives: role of think tanks, guests further discussed the role of think tanks in building international understanding and promoting transcultural communication. They also explored the roots of international mistrust and the role of storytelling in bridging this gap with an emphasis on the contributions that can be made by think tanks in China and abroad through innovating policy narratives.

The third panel, Nurturing next generation think tankers in a dynamic context, stressed the relationship between talent and think tanks. Think tanks play a significant role in handling global challenges and talent plays a key role in think tanks. Panelists had deep discussion on the topic of how think tanks can attract, cultivate, manage and stimulate talent in think tanks’ long-term operation.

In the fourth panel, EU-China think tank exchange in challenging times: prospects and innovations, specialists from Chinese and European think tanks discussed the opportunities and potential for EU-China cooperation as well as how think tanks can guide dialogue and exchange from the two sides.

On December 8, 2021, the special closing dialogue “The changing reality of China-US relations, its global impact, and future development,” featured Stephen Roach, Senior Lecturer at the Jackson Institute at Yale School of Management and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, to speak with WANG Huiyao, President of CCG, on the China-US economic landscape.

The “CCG Executive Summit: China and globalization: Looking back and looking forward” featured Chen Xiaogong, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Office at CPC Central Committee; Jiang Xipei, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Far East Holding Group Co Ltd., CCG Advisor; Antony Leung Kam-Chung, Chairman and CEO of Nan Fung Group, former Financial Secretary of HKSAR, CCG Senior Vice Chair; Yu Hongjun, former Vice Minister of CPC International Department, CCG Advisor; Zhang Huarong, Founder and Chairman of Huajian Group, CCG Vice Chair; Zhang Yichen, Chairman and CEO of CITIC Capital, CCG Senior Vice Chair, The participants discussed the trend of China’s economic development, the future of international relations among great nations, as well as the regional development under the situation of the global pandemic.

The whole list of panelists is attached below

Alexander Kallweit, Resident Representative for China, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)

Andy Mok, Senior Fellow, Center for China and Globalization (CCG)

Angela Mo, Head of Community Engagement, Our Hong Kong Foundation (online)

Antony Leung Kam-Chung, Chairman and CEO of Nan Fung Group; former Financial Secretary of HKSAR; CCG Senior Vice Chair

Chen Xiaogong, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Office at CPC Central Committee; CCG Advisor

CUI Hongjian, Director of Department of European Studies, China Institute of International Studies (CIIS)

DAI Changzheng, Professor and Dean of School of International Relations, University of International Business and Economics (UIBE); CCG Non-resident Senior Fellow

David Dollar, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution Scott Kennedy, Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

David Pan, Executive Dean and Professor, Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University

Edward Alden, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

GAO Anming, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of China International Publishing Group

GU Yu, President of BiliBili Public Policy Research Institute

Halldor Berg, Senior Country Representative at EURAXESS China

HUO Jianguo, CCG Senior Fellow; Vice Chairman, China Society for WTO Studies Shada Islam, Managing Director of New Horizons Project; former Director of Policy at Friends of Europe (online)

JIAO Xinwang, President, China Manufacturing Think Tan

JI Hongbo, China Country Representative, The Asia Foundation

John Hamre, President, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (online)

Laurence Brahm, Founding Director, Himalayan Consensus Institute

LI Gang, Director of the Center for Chinese Think Tank Research and Assessment, Nanjing University

LI Huailiang, Dean of Institute for Community with Shared Future, Communication University of China

Mabel Miao, Secretary-General, Center for China and Globalization (CCG)

Mary Lovely, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE); Professor of Economics, Syracuse University

Mike H. Liu, Vice Chair, China Global Talent Society (CGTS); CCG Vice President

Paolo Magri, Executive Vice President, ISPI; Chair of T20 Italy (online)

SHEN Wei, Associate Vice Pro Chancellor of Deakin University; Jean-Monnet Chair of Professor; Vice Chairman, EU-Asia Center

Stephen Roach, Senior Lecturer, Jackson Institute at Yale School of Management; former Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia

Steven G. Dong, Vice President of China Public Relations Association

SU Ge, former President of China Institute of International Studies (CIIS); former Chairman of the China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation; CCG Advisor

SUN Ming, Vice-President, Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS)

SUN Yongfu, CCG Senior Fellow; former Director-General of MOFCOM Department of European Affairs

Tim Summers, Senior Consulting Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Program, Chatham House (online)

Victor Gao, Vice President of Center for China and Globalization (CCG)

WANG Wen, Executive Dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China

WANG Huiyao, President, Center for China and Globalization (CCG)

WANG Yiwei, Jean-Monnet Chair of Professor and Director of Institute of International Affairs, Renmin University of China

Yu Hongjun, former Vice Minister of CPC International Department; CCG Advisor Zhang Huarong, Founder and Chairman of Huajian Group; CCG Vice Chair

Zhang Yichen, Chairman and CEO of CITIC Capital; CCG Senior Vice Chair

ZHANG Yunzhou, President, State Grid Energy Research Institute

ZHANG Ning, President of International Competence Development Committee, Chinese Society of Educational Development Strategy (CSEDS); former Deputy Secretary-General, China Scholarship Council (CSC)

Zoon Ahmed, Research Fellow, Center for China and Globalization (CCG)