On November 9-10th, 2020, the Seventh Annual Meeting of “North Pavilion Dialogue” was held at Peking University (PKU). “North Pavilion Dialogue” was organized by the Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IISS), PKU with enormous support from the leadership of PKU as well as the School of International Studies (SIS) of PKU. Both domestic and foreign former politicians and renowned experts with extensive political experience, profound academic accomplishments and comprehensive strategic visions are invited annually to the “North Pavilion Dialogue” at the PKU to explore the international situation and the prospects of world politics.

This year’s “North Pavilion Dialogue”, titled “Post-U.S. Election Global Trends and Sino-U.S. Strategic Relations”, was held as a video conference, aiming to explore the global trends, Asia and strategic competition between China and the United States post the 2020 U.S. election.

Participants unanimously agreed that as the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election have been settled, the strategic competition between China and the United States shall remain intense, but the Sino-U.S. relations shall also see an increase in the opportunities for future cooperation. More practical ideas and actions should be encouraged to curb the downward spiral of Sino-U.S. relations and further establish a stable international order. All sides should actively work together to establish a framework for multilateral cooperation, facilitate the development of a free trade system that boasts fairness, mutual reciprocity and openness and is based on common rules, and at the same time, strengthen joint cooperation in terms of addressing common challenges mankind is facing, such as climate change and global health.

A total of 13 international guests were invited to this annual meeting: Mr. Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia; Mr. John Negroponte, former United States Deputy Secretary of State; Mr. Joseph Nye, Jr., former Assistant Secretary of Defense of the United States and former Chair of the National Intelligence Council of the United States; Mr. David Miliband, former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom; Mr. Shivshankar Menon, former National Security Advisor of India; Mr. Nabil Fahmy, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt; Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan; Mr. Kim Sung-Hwan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea; Mr. George Yeo, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore; Mr. Marty Natalegawa, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia; Mr. Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council; Mr. Volker Perthes, Senior Advisor to and former Director of Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP); Mr. Thierry de Montbrial, President of French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

Mr. Dai Bingguo, former State Councilor of the PRC and Honorary President of the IISS, PKU, attended the meeting and delivered a keynote speech. Several distinguished domestic guests also attended this annual meeting upon invitation, including Ms. Fu Ying, Chairperson for Center of International Security and Strategy (CISS), Tsinghua University, Lt. Gen. Chen Xiaogong, former Deputy Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee and former Deputy Commander of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force, Maj. Gen. Yao Yunzhu, former Director Emeritus of the Center on China-American Defense Relations of the Academy of Military Science of the PLA, Prof. Yan Xuetong, Dean of the Institute of International Relations, Tsinghua University and Council Member of the IISS, PKU, Dr. Wu Baiyi, Party Committee Secretary and Director-General of the Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and Prof. Wang Yizhou, Boya Distinguished Professor of PKU and Council Member of the IISS, PKU. Other participants from the IISS, PKU mainly include Prof. Wang Jisi, President, Prof. Yuan Ming, Vice President, Associate Prof. Guan Guihai, Executive Vice President, Prof. Yu Tiejun, Vice President, Associate Prof. Gui Yongtao, Vice President and Associate Prof. Wu Bingbing, Senior Research Fellow of the IISS, PKU.

The IISS, PKU was officially established in October 2013, with Mr. Dai Bingguo, former State Councilor of the PRC, serving as its honorary president. Under the leadership of PKU and thanks to the abundant intellectual resources of the SIS, PKU and other relevant schools and departments PKU, the IISS has long been able to undertake research projects commissioned by government departments and enterprises, dedicate itself to providing top-quality consulting services regarding China’s international strategies and foreign policies and establish close partnership with representative think tanks and academic institutions around the world.

Since 2014, the IISS, PKU has been hosting the “North Pavilion Dialogue” annually, which is one of the initiatives of PKU to fully implement the Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s instructions on “establishing a new type of think tanks with Chinese characteristics”. The IISS aims to transform the “North Pavilion Dialogue” into a high-profile platform to facilitate exchanges and cooperation among domestic experts and their international peers in the international strategic community and further encourage in-depth exploration of and accurate judgments on the world situation, forward China’s fulfillment of its international role as a major world power and promote reciprocity-based mutual cooperation and inclusive development in global politics.

The “North Pavilion” as in the name “North Pavilion Dialogue”, formerly known as the Luella Miner Pavilion, is situated in the central part of the picturesque Yan Yuan campus and now accommodates the office of the IISS.

Editor: Li Fangqi, Zeng Chuyuan    Photographer: Zheng Peijie