CHINA TALK 23 The Future of World Order: A View from China

The seminar took place at Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam and was facilitated by Dr. Nguyen Hung Son, DAV’s Vice President. The main speaker was Professor Yang Jiemian, Chairman of Academic Advisory Council, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS). The Talk also welcomed the participation of two commentators: Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Former Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations, Former Deputy-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam and DAV’s Senior Advisor; and Ambassador Dino Patti Djalal, Founder of the Indonesian Foreign Policy Community, Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia. Attracting nearly 100 participants, China Talk 23 continued the success of its 22 previous seminars, garnering acclaim for its content and enhancing the credibility of this track II activity.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Nguyen Hung Son, DAV’s Vice President welcomed Professor Yang Jiemian as the main speaker. He emphasized the importance of Chinese studies in DAV’s training and research activities. Over the years, DAV has consistently sought to connect with Chinese scholars in the region and worldwide to promote academic exchanges and enhance comprehensive and in-depth studies on China. Mr. Florian Constantin Feyerabend, Resident Representative of KAS in Viet Nam, highly appreciated the role of DAV in collaborating with KAS to organize the annual China Talk series and emphasize the timing topic of the China Talk this year.

Regarding the seminar’s main speaker, Professor Yang Jiemian serves as the Chairman of the Academic Advisory Council, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS). Concurrently, Prof. Yang is Member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Member of Evaluation Group of Chinese Social Science Foundation, Member of Social Science Project Evaluation Group of the Ministry of Education of China; Member of the Council of Eminent Persons of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Member of China-Russia Committee of Friendship, Peace and Development; Director of the Board of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs. In terms of teaching, Professor Yang is the academic advisor or guest professor at Peking University, Nanjing University, and Fudan University. He is the author (and co-author) of approximately 20 books and numerous articles on international relations and China foreign policy.

During his keynote remarks, Professor Yang Jiemian outlined China's current foreign policy approach, emphasizing adherence to the international system with the United Nations at its center and a world order based on international law. He also analyzed China's approach and interaction in the current world order, highlighting China's efforts to promote "a better future" for the world order. He stressed the need for countries to learn from each other to build a common vision for the future by (i) balancing national interests with regional and global interest; (ii) recognizing the opportunities for enhancing influence and voices in international system: (iii) understanding the constantly changing world, especially towards values and lives of freedom.

In the discussion session, Amb. Dang Dinh Quy and Amb. Dino Patti Djalal provided insights into the current international political situation and China’s role in Southeast Asian countries policy. Both commentators emphasized peace, prosperity, sustainability, and development as core values that need to be continuously promoted in the multilateral system. The factor affecting the future international order is the changing power among major countries. Therefore, the Southeast Asian region needs to be more open and enhance cooperation with countries worldwide not only to maintain a peaceful and stable environment for development but also to address non-traditional security challenges together.

The China Talk series is a long-term and successful cooperation project between the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Viet Nam, which are usually held twice a year. China Talk helps to establish a network connecting scholars, diplomats, and researchers interested in Sinology in Viet Nam and worldwide. Through exchanges with foreign experts, Vietnamese scholars have the opportunity to be present their viewpoints, evaluate, test, and adjust their assessment on China, thereby marking Vietnam's presence on the network of China studies worldwide.

Some photos of seminar: