Time:2011/9/5 

The conference between Chinese and American think tankers, which is co- sponsored by Center for International and Strategic Studies (CISS), and Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), School of International Studies, Peking University, was held in the Lakeview hotel from August 29 to 30, 2011. Seven American experts as well as eleven Chinese counterparts were invited to participate in this event, including those American specialists from Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Atlantic Council and Center for the National Interest. On the Chinese side, the specialists came from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Northwest University, Lanzhou University, Yunnan University and Peking University.

The theme of the conference was fixed to “The Potentialities of Cooperation between China and the United States in the Middle East and Central Asia”. It was supported by Chinese Embassy to the United States and China-United States Exchange Foundation. During the two-day conference, the participants discussed deeply on the four given topics, namely “The Political and Economic Trends in the Middle East and Central Asia”, “The Security Situation and Anti-Terrorism in the Middle East and Central Asia”, “Policies of China and the US in the Middle East and Central Asia” and “Relations and Potentials of Cooperation between China and the US in the Middle East and Central Asia”. The specialists commonly recognized that China and the US shared the basis of cooperation in the above areas although there were differences and divergences available between these two countries’ understandings. Especially after the Arab Spring, both two counties were faced with challenges crucial to the national interests, such as preventing the revival of Islamic extremism, keeping the stability of energy prices and ensuring the security of the Middle East and Central Asia. It is not only beneficial to China and the US to promote and establish a strategic cooperation mechanism, but also serves the fundamental interest of the area and the world. Therefore China and the US should try to start substantive cooperation from building the strategic mutual trust, holding conversations on the specific topics like anti-terrorism, combating narcotics and deterring the proliferation of WMD.

During the two-day conference, the participants also talked over a series of issues such as current situations in the Middle East and Central Asia, the causes and impacts of Arab Spring, Afghanistan predicament, the development of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and so on. After the conference, Mr. Xie Feng, the Director-General of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs at Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Mr. Zhang Hanhui, the Director-General of the Department of European-Central Asian Affairs at MFA met with the American participants of the conference.