On February 22, the China Public Diplomacy Association, Peking University and Renmin University of China jointly held the Lanting Forum on the topic of "Promoting Dialogue and Cooperation and Managing Differences: Bringing China-U.S. Relations Back to the Right Track”. Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Former US Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, President of the Asia Society and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, President of Peking University Hao Ping, Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co. Inc. Maurice Greenberg, as well as Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai, delivered speeches respectively.
More than 40 Chinese and American guests attended the forum, including former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and Chairman of Center for International Strategy and Security of Tsinghua University Fu Ying, President of Peking University Hao Ping and former U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills. In-depth opinion exchanges and discussions were conducted during the forum, where guests focused on the subtopics of “Rebuilding Political Trust”, “Restoring Balance to Economic and Trade Ties”, and “Resuming People-to-People Exchange”.
Wu Hailong, President of the China Public Diplomacy Association, presided over the opening ceremony.
Wang Yi stated in his speech that in the face of unprecedented global challenges, such as the global pandemic, economic recessions and climate change, the human society should show courage, solidarity and responsibility. As two big countries, China and the United States should first ensure domestic stability and prosperity, and at the same time cooperate over the common interests of mankind. In order to restore order to China-U.S. relations, misconceptions deliberately made to censor the reality of China should first be broken down, so that everyone can recognize and understand China in an accurate and objective way. He also put forward 4 suggestions on how to bring China-U.S. relations back to the right track (full text of which will be published separately).
Henry Paulson stated that China-U.S. relations remain the most important bilateral relations in the world. Although several strategic competitions between the two countries exists, the two sides should compete in a positive way to avoid unnecessary confrontations and “zero-sum” situations. The two countries should strengthen coordination and build mutual trust in response to challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and economic development of the two countries.
Kevin Rudd stated that China and the U.S. should engage in controlled strategic competition where a bottom line must be drawn and rules be set so that war could be avoided. The second decade of the 21st century is crucial for either China, the U.S. and China-U.S. relations. There are three pillars of China-U.S. relations: jointly establishing restrictions on each other’s security policies and behaviors; maximizing their own interests while remaining within boundaries; and continuing carrying out strategic cooperation in response to critical global challenges.
Hao Ping stated that China-U.S. relations are at a critical juncture as of now, and it is the common expectation of both the people of the two countries and the international community to promote healthy and stable development of the China-U.S. relations. In this process, universities of the two countries must play an even more active role. Chinese and American universities should cherish the long-established friendships and develop new cooperation models, jointly focus on the common challenges faced by mankind and strengthen joint research in order to improve human welfare, and also cultivate deep friendship of the new generation for a brighter future of the relations between our two countries.
Maurice Greenberg said that there is no bilateral relationship more important than the China-US relations in today’s world, and cooperation between the two countries is the best way to overcome existing difficulties. It is hoped that the two countries will continue to benefit both sides while enhancing their own national interests.
Cui Tiankai said that China and the United States must accurately understand and grasp each other's strategic intentions and truly understand and respect each other's history, culture and development path. It is hoped that the United States can correct its mentality and learn to coexist peacefully with countries of different history, cultures and political systems. The two sides must communicate frankly and clarify policy boundaries, so as to effectively manage differences and focus on cooperation.
After the opening ceremony, 3 breakout sessions were held in parallel.
On the breakout session of “Rebuilding Political Trust”, the guests stated that China and the United States need to strengthen mutual understanding and make correct judgements on each other’s strategic intentions, and that the competition between China and the United States should be benign and regulated by certain rules. In the process of rebuilding political trust, China and the U.S. not only should address structural issues on a bilateral level, but also establish a new global cooperative agenda. The two countries should also treat each other frankly, to seek common ground while reserving differences, avoid the "Thucydides Trap" and strive for a win-win situation.
On the breakout session of “Restoring Balance to Economic and Trade Ties”, the guests stated that China and the United States should maintain close and continuous communications, strengthen mutual trust and understanding, carry out coordination in various aspects such as stimulative policies and market access, monetary policies and trade normalization, achieving global supply chain stability, etc. The two sides should also actively promote the second-stage economic and trade agreement negotiations so as to resolve structural issues in the economic and trade relations between the two countries.
On the breakout session of “Resuming People-to-People Exchange”, the guests stated that the key to restoring cultural exchanges between China and the U.S. lies in value exchanges and comprehensive communication. All civilizations are equal, and there is no better or worse culture. Cultural uniqueness of each other should be respected. Youth and educational exchanges are a substantial path for China-U.S. relations to recover, and the bilateral education exchange platform should be reenabled as soon as possible. The sports community of the two countries should also carry out communication and exchanges on more levels.
This Lanting Forum is the fourth large-scale online international forum organized by the CPDA since the COVID-19 outbreak, and also the first China-U.S. informal dialogue held since the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden. Former U.S. politicians, experts and scholars from both countries, and representatives from various fields were invited to this forum, the discussion of whom will sure be able to help restore China-U.S. relations back to the track of healthy and stable development.