In the morning of February 22, 2021, the Lanting Forum on “Promoting Dialogue and Cooperation and Managing Differences: Bringing China-U.S. Relations Back to the Right Track” was jointly held by the China Public Diplomacy Association, Peking University and Renmin University of China. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. Henry Paulson, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Kevin Rudd, President and CEO of Asia Society and former Prime Minister of Australia, Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. and former CEO of American International Group, and Cui Tiankai, Chinese Ambassador to the United States, attended and addressed the opening ceremony. President Hao Ping and Vice President Wang Bo of Peking University were also in attendance at the Lanting Forum, and Hao Ping gave a speech as the representative of the co-organizers. The opening ceremony was moderated by Wu Hailong, President of China Public Diplomacy Association.
Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding (iGCU) of Peking University is one of the major co-organizers of the Lanting Forum and is in charge of preparing for the forum and inviting Chinese and foreign guests. Wang Dong, Vice President of the Office for Humanities and Social Sciences, Professor of the School of International Studies and Executive Director of iGCU at Peking University, moderated Session III: Resuming People-to-People Exchange.
Scene of Session III
In his introductory speech, Prof. Wang Dong pointed out that people-to-people exchanges have always been regarded as a pillar of China-U.S. relations. The people and governments of both countries have frequent exchanges in many fields, including education, sports, art, commerce, and so on, which has also enhanced mutual trust and friendship. Unfortunately, in the past few years, such exchanges have been hampered by the negative impacts of the pandemic and McCarthyism we have seen in the United States. Prof. Wang Dong expressed the hope that today's forum can restart and restore people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and put China-U.S. relations back on track.
Prof. Wang Dong Moderated Session III