Seminar Abstract

Forty years have passed since China began its process of “reform and opening up,” during which time the country has experienced both successes and failures on the path towards globalisation. This seminar reviews the meaning and scope of “globalisation,” while highlighting the extent to which China participates, benefits, and contributes to the overall process of economic globalisation. The major stages of China’s reform and opening up policy can be linked to four significant historical events: (1) The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee; (2) Deng Xiaoping’s Southern Tour; (3) China’s accession to the WTO; and (4) General Secretary Xi Jinping’s proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative. The Nineteenth National Congress of the CPC set forth the task for the new era: the building of a global community of shared future for mankind. This era will witness China’s efforts to continue with all-round opening up, while continuing to make due contributions towards the progress of humanity.

About the Speaker

Su Ge is Co-Chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), Chairman of the China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (CNCPEC), and former President of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS).

He also serves as Director of the Centre for Chinese Diplomatic Studies. He joined CIIS in 2000 as Vice President and Senior Research Fellow. Before that, he was a professor at the Foreign Affairs College and doctoral supervisor at Tsinghua University. He served consecutively as Minister Counsellor in the Chinese Embassy in the USA (2003-2006), Ambassador to the Republic of Suriname (2006-2009) and Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland (2009-2013). He was President of the China Institute of International Studies from 2015 to 2018.

Dr Su received his MA and PhD in international and area studies from Brigham Young University. He was a Post-doctorate at Harvard University and Beijing Foreign Studies University. He was a Senior Fulbright Fellow at Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University.

Dr Su is author of American China Policy and the Taiwan Issue, and International Situation in the New Century and China’s Response.