ACC Secretary-General Chen Dehai Attended the Understanding China Conference 2020 (Guangzhou)

From 20 to 22 November 2020, the 5th Understanding China Conference was successfully held in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China.The Conference this year was hosted by China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy (CIIDS), Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, the People’s Government of Guangdong Province and the 21st Century Council, organised by the Guangzhou Municipal Government, and co-organised by CGTN Think Tank. Understanding China Conference has become one of the most influential platforms for the world to understand China’s development plans. Themed “Huge Shake-up, Big Test, Great Cooperation—China’s New March Toward Modernisation and Community with a Shared Future for Humanity”, the Conference this year attracted over 600 politicians, strategists, scholars and entrepreneurs across the world to attendonlineand offline. Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) attended the opening ceremony, the parallel session and related activitiesupon invitation.

On the afternoon of 20 November, the grand opening of Understanding China Conference 2020 was held. Mr. Huang Kunming, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, read out the congratulatory letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping via video link in Beijing. President Xi pointed out that the world today is going through unprecedented changes. He hopes all the attendees can think deeply, discuss actively, build consensus, and contribute wisdom and strength to the promotion of exchanges and cooperation between China and the world and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Mr. Huang Kunming and Mr. Li Xi, Secretary of CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee addressed the opening ceremony. Mr. Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr. Sukarnoputri, former President of Indonesia, Mr. Vladimir Norov, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Mr. Zheng Bijian, Chairman of CIIDS and other well-known politicians and scholars from home and abroad delivered keynote speeches online or offline.They called on all countries to work together to overcome the current difficulties in the face of drastic changes in the global economic and political landscape.

On 21 November, ten parallel sessions of the Conference were held. Guests from home and abroad gathered online or offline for discussions, focusing on a number of hot topics such as new type of infrastructure, new type of manufacturing, financial cooperation, opportunities for transnational companies, urban governance, life and health, scientific and technological innovation, and cultural identity, so as to take a multi-dimensional and multi-angle view of China’s development and global cooperation.

Secretary-General Chen Dehai attended the parallel sessionof “Cultural Identity and Dialogue of Civilizations in the New Round of Economic Globalization”.Through lively discussions, all participants agreed that in the context of economic globalization, countries should respect each other’s cultural differences, build cultural confidence, conduct in-depth exchanges, and jointly promote mutual learning among civilizations.

During the Conference, Secretary-General Chen Dehai also attended the panel discussion on Post COVID-19 Cooperation on Global Economic Recovery and the closed-door session on Challenges and Building of Post COVID-19 World Order and other activities. He exchanged views with guests from different countries and various sectors on advancing ASEAN-China cooperation in all fields as well as promoting the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

On the evening of 21 November, the closing gala of the Conference was held. Secretary-General Chen Dehai attended the event. Mr. Zheng Bijian, Chairman of CIIDS, Mr. Wang Chao, President of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Wen Guohui, Mayor of Guangzhou City, delivered closing speeches. More than 400 guests watched art and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) formation performances afterwards.