The COVID-19 pandemic, which is raging all over the world, is the common enemy of the international community. It not only threatens the health and safety of all mankind, but also brings unprecedented challenges for the economic development and social governance of countries all over the world. On the evening of May 13th, 2020, the second online seminar of the Global Town Hall Meeting was successfully held. The seminar was jointly sponsored by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the University of Pennsylvania, an evaluation institute of world-famous think tanks, the annual ranking report Global Go To Think Tank Index published by TTCSP is one of the most influential and authoritative think tanks in the world, and 78 well-known think tanks around the world, forming the Think Tank Planning Committee. Members of the Planning Committee include leading U.S. think tanks such as the Brookings Institution, Heritage Foundation, Center for Strategic and International Studies, RAND Corporations, Hudson Institute, Atlantic Council, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Wilson International Centre for Scholars, Stimson Center, Center for American Progress and Center for New American Security, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), Royal Institute of International Affairs of the United Kingdom, Institute of Montaigne of France, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) of Germany, Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) of Canada, Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Sejong Institute of South Korea, Observer Research Foundation (ORF) of India, African Center for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Vargas Foundation of Brazil, Center for Strategic and International Studies of Indonesia, Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), as well as the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding (iGCU) at Peking University, China. As one of the co-sponsors, iGCU was invited to participate in the work of the Planning Committee and the seminar, holding full discussions with 440 think tanks' senior executives and scholars from 85 countries and regions across all continents on the current global situation of fighting the pandemic, economic and social issues, and international cooperation. The seminar was chaired by Dr. James McGann, Director of the TTCSP. Wang Dong, Executive Director of the iGCU at Peking University, joined John Allen, President of the Brookings Institution, Kay Coles James, President of the Heritage Foundation, and other 20 senior think tank executives to speak at 5 working groups.
Dr. James McGann, Director of the TTCSP
Themed “To Save Lives and Protect the People’s Livelihood”, and based on the results of the first round of the seminar held on April 17th, this second seminar was held to discuss in depth the five important policy issues facing the global fight against the pandemic, and to launch five international interdisciplinary working groups (IIWGs) to analyze the disruption of the international order caused by the public health crisis, work together to address the survival challenges posed by the pandemic, and follow up on the subsequent international cooperation process. The seminar focused on five important policy issues, namely:
(1) responding to public health crises;
(2) formulating national and international strategies for economic recovery and revitalisation;
(3) identifying innovative and inclusive international public policies to help vulnerable groups;
(4) promoting international cooperation on the establishment of rapid, responsive and flexible systems to deal with future crises;
(5) adapting to an uncertain future: a new mode of think tank operation – research, communication and funding.
As a representative of the Fourth Working Group on “Promoting International Cooperation”, Wang Dong, Executive Director of the iGCU at Peking University, was invited to speak on the topic of “Global Food Security” in the five main aspects.
First, the international community should take immediate joint action to ensure the smooth flow of the global food supply chain, jointly maintain the food supply and price stability, and reduce tariff barriers.
Second, international organizations and agencies such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) should play a coordinating and leading role, and take the initiative to provide relevant countries with humanitarian assistance in order to prevent the occurrence of large-scale famine.
Third, global food trade should be unhindered and unilateral sanctions should be lifted as soon as possible.
Fourth, the international community should actively assist and support developing and low-income countries, especially rural communities and household farmers, to improve their economic efficiency, resilience, sustainability, food security and nutrition.
Finally, it is necessary to promote the construction of a community of shared future for mankind in the global fight against the pandemic. Only by adhering to the concept of a community of shared future for human kind can we safeguard the lives and common interests of humans.
Wang Dong, Executive Director of the iGCU at Peking University
Public health security is a common challenge faced by mankind, which needs to be dealt with jointly by all countries. Facing the pandemic, what the international community needs most is to strengthen its confidence, make concerted efforts, respond in unity, strengthen international cooperation in an all-round way and gather a strong joint force to overcome the pandemic, enabling us to win this human struggle against major infectious disease hand in hand. In the context of the global fight against the pandemic, these seminars were launched by 78 of the most influential think tanks in the world as a new form of online seminar, for the main purposes of practical cooperation and concerted joint efforts. It is intended to mobilise think tanks around the world to better provide policymakers and the public with advice and services in the pandemic crisis. It is also intended to put forward specific strategies and action reports to deal with the pandemic, save lives and ensure production and life in such areas as crisis management, decision-making, fundraising, information communication and policy research, thereby contributing think tank strength to explore better ways of solving practical problems in international cooperation and achieving efficient and excellent cooperation. This information will eventually be pooled into a fruitful program of joint efforts by global think tanks for reference by governments and regional and global intergovernmental organizations. The outcomes of the seminar will be discussed at the third and final round of the Global Town Hall Meeting.
Working Group #4, Think Tank Planning Committee
As the only new-type think tank in China to have been invited to participate in the seminar twice in a row, the iGCU at Peking University participates in the work of the Planning Committee and plays an important role in agenda setting, meeting arrangement, think tank proposals, etc. In the meantime, Prof. Wang Dong made a presentation at the seminar as one of the 78 representative think tanks in the world, increasing the international voice of Chinese think tanks. The iGCU at Peking University has participated in the Global Town Hall Meeting twice in a row, which not only brings the Chinese voice to the Global Town Hall Meeting to advocate international cooperation in the fight against the pandemic but also provides Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for jointly safeguarding global public health security. This also demonstrates the concept of jointly promoting the construction of a "community of shared future for human kind" in the global fight against the pandemic.
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