International Seminar on “China in the New Era” Held in London

Xinhua News Agency, London, April 12, (by Gui Tao, Liang Xizhi) – An international seminar with the theme of “China in the New Era” was held in London on April 11, as part of a series of activities to promote the launch of the second volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China in nine languages. It was jointly organized by China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, China International Publishing Group and the 21st Century Council with the support of the Chinese Embassy in Britain.

 (Jiang Jianguo (Left), deputy head of Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and minister of the State Council Information Office, delivers a speech at the “China in the New Era” international seminar in London on April 11.)

The seminar attracted more than 70 distinguished scholars and media representatives from China, Britain, the United States and Singapore, among other countries. The guests who attended the opening ceremony included Jiang Jianguo, deputy head of Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and minister of the State Council Information Office; Liu Xiaoming, Chinese Ambassador to Britain; Zheng Bijian, director of the Academics Committee at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy (CIIDS); Former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, and former Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen. Participants held discussions over a variety of topics, such as the historical positioning and worldwide significance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era, as well as China and the world in the new era.

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has led the socialism with Chinese characteristics into a new era, has opened a new chapter in realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and has opened a new scroll that strengthens the integration of China with the world, said Jiang Jianguo, deputy head of Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and minister of the State Council Information Office. He stressed that in the new era, China will create more opportunities for global development, open the door of opening-up even wider to countries all over the world, enhance exchanges with different civilizations and contribute more deeply to the building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Zheng Bijian, chairman of CIIDS, said the context of “China in the new era” comes from the development process of socialism with Chinese characteristics linked to economic globalization. He said the important idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping carried to a new historical height the concepts of convergence of interests and community of shared interests, which are developed through interdependence created in economic globalization. He said that the fourth round of economic globalization where countries achieve shared growth through discussion and collaboration is approaching, which means that it is more important than ever that we follow the trends of our times, make concerted efforts to address challenges through global cooperation, and redouble our efforts to expand and deepen the convergence of interests of all parties and to develop all-dimensional and multi-level communities of common interests.

President Gonzalez said that isolation is not the answer to globalization. Instead, all countries should strengthen the coordination of global governance and explore the convergence of interests, he said. He said that China is a force for stability and support for cooperation in the process of globalization, and that China is constantly opening up and seeking common interests with other countries to create a community of shared interests.

 (A man reads a book of the second volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China before the “China in the New Era” seminar in London on April 11.)

Ambassador Liu Xiaoming said that understanding China in the new era is necessary for seizing the opportunities China offers, that it is the call of the times to build a community with a shared future for mankind, and it is a necessary step to narrow down the “cognitive gap” between China and the West. In order to better understand China in the new era, people should start by fully understanding the CPC, digging into Xi Jinping: The Governance of China and closely learning China’s national conditions, said Liu.

Nathan Gardels, co-founder of the Berggruen Institute, said that the West and China need to understand each other’s development goals and seek common grounds for common interests. The starting point is an international seminar like this one that helps the West better understand Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era and the Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.

Martin Jacques, a senior fellow at the Cambridge University, told Xinhua that the world today lacks a sense of direction in the future. It is at this time that China has proposed its own new perspectives on the future. He believes that the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind proposed by Xi in the current era of globalization is an important foundation for the development of human society. China’s own great changes and its perception of the future are very important, and if, in a more profound sense, China is the future, he said.