On Mar. 8th,2019， a delegation of leaders from Peace Organization composed of seven eastern and central Asian states including Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and scholars from Security Think Tank visited GDUFS and held a seminar “The Risks and Challenges Facing the Construction of the Belt and Road Initiative with GIIS. Professor Sui Guangjun, party secretary of GDUFS, executive vice president of GIIS, met with the domestic and foreign scholars and experts and had a deep communication with them. The seminar was hosted by Yang Aimin, vice president of GDUFS. The delegation composed of experts from seven countries led by Misico Maxim, president of Belarus Foundation, a member from the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) of Belarus attended the seminar.
Yang Aimin conveyed a warm welcome towards the delegates. Then he mentioned in his speech that after 40 years of reform and opening up, China has achieved long-term prosperity. The “Belt and Road” Initiative is proposed with an aim to share economic growth and social prosperity with other countries so as to build a community with a shared future for mankind. People-to-people communication is one of the important components in the process of the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, he added.
Misco Maxim, the head of the delegation, extended thanks to the Chinese side for being invited and expressed the hope that the two sides could get to know each other better and discuss security issues in international strategies in a deeper way at this seminar.
Leaders Addressing the Seminar
During the expert presentation session, Benjamin Pogue, director of the Institute for Strategic Defense Studies of Armenia argued that in the process of constructing the Belt and Road Initiative, there exists a challenge of misinformation since the local information about the Belt and Road Initiative mostly comes from the negative reports of western media while lacking first-hand information from the Chinese side. He suggested that Chinese strategic research institutes should publish information on the Belt and Road Initiative in English or Russian, so as to promote a more correct understanding of the Initiative in the countries along the Road.
Kenzebek Takirbashev, vice president of International Public Association of Kyrgyz Generals for Peace, Natalia Chartulina, secretary of the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity and Cooperation Committee of Russia, Zanat Ordaleva, an advisor to the director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Raimaryhun Chutinov, director of the department of international relations of Tajikistan’s National University of Nationalities and other experts from the delegation elaborated their arguments on the upcoming One Belt and Road Summit and the expectations and views of the Central Asian countries on the Belt and Road Initiative.
Experts of the Delegation Voicing Their Opinions
Professor Xiao Yaofei, a senior researcher from GIIS expressed his views on the Belt and Road Initiative from the perspective of peace, saying that before 1949, China suffered more than 100 years of war and poverty, and in pursuit of peace, Chinese people concluded that economic cooperation the best way to achieve peace, and thus the fundamental reason for the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative is to maintain long-term stability and cooperation with neighboring countries.
Since president Xi came into office, China’s foreign policy has shifted from an unconditional to a conditional pursuit of peace, which means that China’s core national interests must be respected. Such foreign policy presents the bottom line of thinking: China’s peace policy is conditional rather than unconditional, marking a shift of China’s foreign policy, Professor Chen Hanxi, director of European Studies Center said in his speech.
Professor Cheng Yonglin, a researcher from GIIS, mentioned the problem of production capacity cooperation. There is a large funding gap, high risks, lack of financial prevention and cooperation mechanisms and other problems therein, he said, adding that to solve the above problems requires the negotiation and cooperation with countries along the Road.
Doctor Lai Suetyi from GIIS suggested that there is a lack of localization when promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, which may lead to a negative attitude of western countries and even countries along the Road towards the Initiative. She hoped later the delegates could express the expectations of the Initiative.
Experts from GIIS Voicing Their Opinions
After speeches, the experts and scholars had an active participation in the free discussion session, expressing their own views on the risks and challenges facing the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. The seminar produced fruitful results.
The seminar was also attended by Asala Mukanova, a researcher from the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Sheradir Baktgulov, a researcher from National Institute for Strategic Studies of Kyrgyzstan, Farholobik Fazulov, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan, Saduro Rasurov, director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan, Du Genqi, first secretary of the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament, Professor Ke Xiaohua, director of international cooperation and exchange division of GDUFS, Yuan Lvli, deputy director of European Office of Guangdong Foreign Affairs Office, etc.
A Group Photo of the Attenders
