Time:2008/12/22 

September 26-27, 2008, “The Issues and Current Situation of China-Korea Relations: Changes and Developments” Symposium was held at PKU’s School of International Studies (SIS). This symposium was jointly held by SIS PKU and CISS PKU. Representatives from Korea came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in China, Yonsei University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, National Defense University, Kyung Hee University, and Sejong Institute. Among the attendees, there was also an alumnus of Peking University, who received his PhD from SIS PKU in the 1990s. Representatives from China were mostly comprised of scholars from SIS PKU.

The opening ceremony of the symposium was hosted by CISS Deputy Director Prof. Zhu Feng. H.E. Mr. Shin Jung-Seung, Ambassador of ROK to China, attended the symposium and delivered a speech, reviewing the development and results of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Korea. He expressed hope that China and Korea would continue to strengthen their cooperation and increase exchanges with each other, in the fields of politics, economics, culture, and particularly in academia, to further promote the development of bilateral relations. 

Afterwards, the Associate Dean of SIS, Executive Deputy Director of CISS, Professor Yuan Ming delivered a special speech entitled “Actively developing China-Korea Relations. Cultivating Asia’s cultural capacity together.” She extended a warm welcome to the visitors from Korea and emphasized the importance of the integrating and mixing multicultural backgrounds into a common Asian culture. She hoped that both Chinese and Korean scholars would contribute to researching and cooperating on this topic.

During the symposium, various experts and scholars contributed to discussion on six different topics, including “Korea-China Relations during the Lee Myung-bak Administration”, “Korea-China-Japan Relations: Defense, Social and Economic Cooperation”, “The North Korea Issue”, “Historical disputes and China-Korea Relations”, “Strengthening China-Korea Relations: Strategies and Reflections”, “China-Korea Relations and Northeast Asian Regional Security”, and “Peking University, Chinese and Korean Education and Academic Exchanges”.