On the morning of October 22, 2018, the China-US Policy Seminar on Civil Wars and International Response, jointly sponsored by US-Asia Security Initiative of Stanford University, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute for China-US People-to-People Exchange of Peking University, was held at the Stanford Center at Peking University. Nearly 30 Chinese and foreign scholars and policy makers from different fields gathered and had a heated discussion on related topics and fully exchanged views within a day and a half. The seminar achieved fruitful and constructive results and came to a successful conclusion on the afternoon of the 23.
Chinese and foreign guests attending the seminar include (in order of speeches): Professor Karl W. Eikenberry, retired Lieutenant General, Director of the US-Asia Security Initiative of Stanford University and former Lieutenant General of NATO Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, Professor Jia Qingguo, Dean of the School of International Studies and Executive Director of the Institute for China-US People-to-People Exchange of Peking University, Ambassador Liu Fei, former Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Vancouver, Canada, and Secretary General of the China-United States Exchange Foundation, Major General Xu Hui, Dean of the International College of Defense Studies, NDU, PLA, Wang Dong, Executive Deputy Director of the Institute for China-US People-to-People Exchange of Peking University and Associate Professor of the School of International Studies of Peking University, Professor Stephen Krasner, Senior Researcher at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies of Stanford University and former Director of the Office of Policy Planning of the United States Department of State, Charles Call, Associate Professor of American University and Senior Researcher of the Brookings Institution, He Yin, Associate Professor of China Peacekeeping Police Training Center, Ouyang Wei, former Secretary General of the National Security Engineering Laboratory of the National Defense University, Cheng Xizhong, Senior Researcher of The Charhar Institute, Vanda Felbab-Brown, Senior Researcher of Center for 21stCentury Security and Intelligence of Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy Program, Martha Crenshaw, Senior Researcher of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies of Stanford University, Sarah Lischer, Associate Professor of Political Science at Wake Forest University, Paul Wise, core faculty member of the Center for Health Policy (CHP) and the Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research (PCOR), Stanford University, Luo Yanhua, Professor at the School of International Studies, Peking University, Yuan Zheng, Senior Researcher and Director of the American Diplomatic Office of the Institute of American Studies, CASS, Li Shaoxian, Dean of the China-Arab States Research Institute of Ningxia University, Yu Wanli, Chief Strategy Officer of China Security & Protection International Risk Management Consulting Co., Ltd., Stephen Biddle, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, William Reno, Director of the Program of African Studies at Northwestern University, Luo Lin, Professor and Dean of Middle East School of Beijing Language and Culture University and Dean of Academy of International and Regional Studies of Beijing language and Culture University, Lyu Rui, Senior Researcher at the National Strategic Research Center of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Non-resident Senior Researcher at the Brookings Institution, Abdeta Dribssa Beyene, Executive Director of Center for Dialogue, Research and Cooperation (CDRC), Liu Jianfei, Vice President and Professor of the Institute for International Strategic Studies of the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC, Li Chen, Assistant Professor and Director of International Security and Strategy Program, School of International Studies, Renmin University of China, Gong Jiong, Professor of Economics at the University of International Business and Economics, and Belinda A. Yeomans, Assistant Director of the US-Asia Security Initiative of Stanford University. In addition, Ambassador Fu Ying, Vice Chairman of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee and Chief Expert of the International Strategic Think Tanks of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Major General Xu Hui attended the banquet and luncheon on the 22ndrespectively as scholars and delivered keynote speeches.
Ambassador Liu Fei delivered a speech
The seminar opened at 09:30 on the 22nd. Secretary-General Liu Fei, Professor Karl W. Eikenberry and Professor Jia Qingguo delivered opening speeches respectively.
Professor Karl W. Eikenberry delivered a speech
Professor Jia Qingguo delivered a speech
The theme of the first session was “The Trend of Civil Wars and International Response since the End of the Cold War”, which was presided over by Associate Professor Wang Dong. Participants believed that the end of the Cold War was an important turning point of the great changes in the forms of civil wars and international intervention, and reviewed, summarized and discussed the typical cases and models of civil wars and international intervention since the end of the Cold War.
The discussion in the first session established the basic background and scope of this seminar.
Major General Xu Hui delivered a speech
During the luncheon, Major General Xu Hui delivered a keynote speech on China’s constructive role in the international system.
The second session in the afternoon, entitled “Threats to International Security Posed by Civil Wars and Domestic Violence”, was moderated by Senior Researcher Vanda Felbab-Brown. The guests believed that civil wars after the Cold War had an impact on international security in many ways, not only in the military aspect, but also on relations between major powers, the regional situation, the issue of refugees, public health issues, and the spread of extreme ideas. Therefore, for the intervention on civil wars and domestic violence, the international community should also broaden its thinking and start from many aspects.
The third session was divided into two halves with the theme of “Options for International Response”. The first half was held on the evening of the 22nd, with the theme of “International Response --- Restrictions on Intervention”, presided over by Major General Xu Hui. Participants discussed the justifiability and legitimacy of international intervention and cited a large number of examples. They pointed out that we should attach importance to the role of the United Nations, and also face up to the vagueness and fragility of current international systems and concepts such as human rights. Moreover, civil wars and civil conflicts are becoming more and more complicated in recent years, which may need to be further understood by the academic community.
At the banquet after the session on the 22nd, Ambassador Fu Ying was invited to attend the banquet and delivered a speech on the current China-US relations. She said that China-US relations have declined faster than expected, forcing both sides to face some choices. First, should the two sides “decouple” from each other, leading to the fragmentation of the global economic system, or should they continue to seek win-win results in the same global economic system? Second, should the two sides move towards full-scale confrontation or peaceful coexistence? Fu Ying believed that US opinions on China can be roughly divided into three categories. First, directing against the ideology and political system of China, which China firmly opposes and cannot compromise; second, to exaggerate and distort some problems with a “Navarro” way of thinking, so as to criticize China as a whole; third, the practical problems facing the two countries. The two sides should focus their attention on the third level, solve the current problems in a down-to-earth manner, and avoid the escalation and spread of contradictions.
Ambassador Fu Ying delivered a speech
The second half of the third session was held on the morning of the 23rd, with the theme “International Response --- The Best Advice for Decision Makers”, presided over by Senior Researcher Charles Call. Participants believed that it was necessary to guard against the impact of competition among great powers on civil wars and intervention. In the face of civil wars and domestic violence, all countries should pay attention to giving full play to the role of institutional norms such as the United Nations and peacekeeping operations, clearly define the objectives and limits of intervention, and plan and implement international intervention in a concrete, comprehensive and pragmatic manner. Participants also had a heated discussion on topics such as the military buffer zone.
The following fourth session was entitled “Summary and Closing Discussion”, which was co-chaired by Professor Jia Qingguo and Professor Karl W. Eikenberry. The rapporteurs of the session, Todd Richardson and MEI, first read out the minutes of the session. Then the participants talked about their personal policy suggestions as well as their gains and feelings in the seminar. All the participants expressed great satisfaction with the repeated clash of ideas and interaction of opinions in this seminar. Finally, Professor Jia Qingguo and Professor Karl W. Eikenberry delivered brief closing speeches, briefly summarizing the seminar and expressing gratitude to the participants, organizers and staff, and declared the seminar a complete success.
The China-US Policy Seminar on Civil Wars and International Response is a very meaningful exchange of views between the top scholars of China and the United States on related issues, and has received strong support from the China-United States Exchange Foundation. Facts have proved that the exchanges between the two sides with different ideas has brought complementary eclectic effect, enriched the knowledge system and ideological horizon of both sides, and produced fruitful academic results. The outcome of this seminar will provide valuable policy reference for Chinese and U.S. policy makers and relevant institutions, and will also help to enlighten the agenda of future high-level China-US dialogues. In addition, the event further promoted the exchanges and cooperation between the Institute for China-US People-to-People Exchange of Peking University and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies of Stanford University, thus laying a solid foundation for in-depth cooperation between the two sides in the future.
The Institute for China-US People-to-People Exchange, Peking University is a research institution approved by the Ministry of Education and undertaken by Peking University. Relying on the profound cultural heritage of Peking University, it aims to promote people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States in the areas of academic research, scientific research cooperation and cultural exchanges, to enhance mutual trust and friendship at the non-governmental level, and to eliminate prejudices and misunderstandings, making positive contributions to the healthy development of relations between the two countries. Since its establishment in October 2011, the Institute has carried out cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research based on the cultural traditions of China and the United States, and has done a lot of work in organizing scientific research, academic exchanges, press and publication, and policy consultation. Efforts are being made to build an academic center for China-US humanities and social sciences and scientific research exchanges. Meanwhile, it focuses on exchanges between the people of China and the United States, carries out multi-level and multi-dimensional dialogue, and has become an important platform for people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) is one of the oldest academician institutions and one of the most prestigious honorary societies in the United States, and it is also an academic center for independent policy research. Since John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Robert Treat Paine and other founding fathers founded the American Academy of Arts and Sciences during the American Revolution, being elected as an academician has been considered one of the highest honors in the United States. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has dual function: to elect the best scholars and most influential leaders of each generation to become its academicians from the fields of science, humanities, business, politics, and arts, and to conduct policy research in response to the needs of society. [2] Currently, the main research programs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences focus on higher education and scientific research, humanities and cultural research, scientific and technological progress, American politics, population and environment, child welfare, etc. Its quarterly journalDædalusis widely regarded as one of the most important academic journals in the world.
The US-Asia Security Initiative, under the Asia-Pacific Research Center of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, was launched in July 2015, under the leadership of Karl W. Eikenberry, a former diplomat and retired lieutenant general of NATO coalition forces in Afghanistan. The US-Asia Security Initiative aims to promote interdisciplinary and policy-related studies on security and international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, to try to move beyond the simplified concept of national harmony or competition, and to explore a range of policy options, so as to provide policy reference for stakeholders. Since the launch of the Initiative, experts and scholars from Stanford University and other institutions have held many seminars in the United States and Asia on related topics, and the Initiative is playing an increasingly important role in security research and cooperation between the United States and Asia.
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