On October 13, 2019 in Weihai, the “4th Chinese Renaissance Forum: Building Maritime Community with a Shared Future in A New Era” was successfully held by the Institute of International Studies and School of Northeast Asia Studies, Shandong University, and co-organized by the Weihai Social Science Federation and Weihai Liugong Island Management Committee. Various leaders attended the forum: Luan Jianzhang, Director of the Policy Research Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the CPC Central Committee; Wang Xiaohui, chief engineer and researcher of the National Marine Information Center; Wang Zhongping, Director of the Shandong Provincial CPC Decision-making Advisory Committee, first-tier researcher; Qu Geng, Executive Vice President of Weihai Municipal Party School and Management Office Director of Jiaodong (Weihai) Party Education Base; Liu Changyi, Chairman of Weihai Social Science Federation; Liu Zhen, Party Secretary of Liugong Island Management Committee of Weihai, Party Secretary and Chairman of Weihai Cultural Tourism Development Group.
Professor Zhao Yupu, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee of Shandong University at Weihai and Dean of School of Northeast Asia Studies, presided over the opening ceremony. He fully confirmed the importance of the forum and expressed heartfelt gratitude to present experts and scholars for their participation. Director Luan Jianzhang and Director Wang Zhongping each gave a speech themed “On Building a Maritime Community with a Shared Future” and “Shandong’s Practice of Marine Cooperation”. Professor Zhang Yunling, member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Director of the Institute of International Studies of Shandong University, gave a keynote speech titled “On a New Maritime Outlook”. In his speech, Professor Zhang gave an in-depth interpretation of the three eras of maritime outlook and maritime order, and gave an objective evaluation of the current state of the maritime order. Then Professor Feng Liang, Deputy Director of the Naval Command Academy and the Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea of Nanjing University, gave a keynote speech titled “Strategic Reflections on Promoting the Maritime Community with a Shared Future”, and shared his thoughts on the theoretical values, major challenges, and new approaches and methods of developing “maritime community with a shared future”.
Subsequently, experts each presented speeches and joint discussions on four theme topics: “Great Changes Unseen in a Century and Building of Maritime Community with a Shared Future”, “Maritime Disputes and Security”, “Maritime Governance and Sustainable Development”, and “Maritime Cooperation under the B&R Initiative”. Scholars developed heated discussions. Professor Zhang Jingquan, Vice Dean of School of Northeast Asia Studies and Vice President of the Institute of International Studies of Shandong University, focused on “Maritime Discourse and the Transformation of International Order”. Professor Li Xuewei, Director of the Maritime Strategy and Development Research Center of the Institute of International Studies, Shandong University, talked about “Conception and Practice of the Northeast Maritime Circle”.
At the end of the forum, Professor Zhang Yunling made a concluding speech. He once again expressed sincere gratitude to all the experts and scholars who came to this forum and made a comprehensive summary of the day. He fully confirmed the success of this forum, and hoped that the participating scholars would work together to promote the construction and development of “Maritime Community with a Shared Future” under the context of “great changes unseen in a century”.
The forum was successfully concluded with the Maritime Strategy and Development Research Center issuing employment certificates to the first batch of part-time researchers.
This forum attracted nearly 40 experts, scholars and researchers from universities such as Peking University, Renmin University of China, Beijing International Studies University, Fudan University, Nanjing University, Sun Yat-sen University, Yunnan University, Hainan Normal University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Dalian Maritime University, Yanbian University, Ocean University of China, Shandong Normal University, and Shandong University, as well as from research institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the National Marine Data Information Center, the Academy of Military Sciences, the Naval Academy, the Naval Command Academy, the World Knowledge Press, the Institute of International Studies, the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, the Pacific Society of China, National Institute for South China Sea Studies, Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, Policy Research Office of Shandong Provincial CPC Committee. News media such as Social Sciences Weekly, SDChina.com, and DZwww.com were also present at the forum. Teachers and students from School of Northeast Asia Studies of Shandong University were the major audience.
The success of this forum fully reflects and expands the influence of Institute of International Studies and School of Northeast Asia Studies of Shandong University in maritime research field in China, as well as establishing contacts with research institutes and famous universities, which would lay a solid foundation for further development of future research.
