Preface

The “China-Australia Cooperation Forum：International Symposium on Asian-Pacific Regional Development and Cooperation” jointly organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ National Institute of International Strategy，Australia’s Griffith Asia Institute and Fuzhou University invited scholars，officials and businessmen from New Zealand，Australia，and Fiji，Vanuatu，Singapore，the Philippines，Vietnam，Cambodia，Indonesia，and other countries to discuss the cooperation between China and Australia.

In the second half of 2018，the 26th APEC informal leaders’ meeting will be held in Papua New Guinea. We hold this international symposium with the goal of discussion how to better promote development and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region through in-depth communication in academia. From this point，the symposium is very important and the chosen timing is well.

Currently，the Asia-Pacific region is stable，besides，peace，development and cooperation are the mainstreams in the region. The large countries have frequent interactions and their games are fierce，but there’s more cooperation than competition and their common profits are increasing and there’s expanding common consensus，so the general trend of relations is developing. The Korean nuclear issue and other hot issues have slowed down，and the risk of conflict has been controlled. Although the momentum for regional cooperation has slowed down，it is advancing while exploring，and there’s an obvious state of accumulating new energy for a new breakthrough. Many countries have entered a period of political and social transformation，and tasks such as how to eliminate opposition and solve social division are increasing. These issues are challenges but moreover opportunities. Regional countries can only help the Asia-Pacific region achieve new prosperity by going with the mainstream，targeting main trends and solving problems through cooperation and negotiation.

At the end of 2017，the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China systematically summarized China’s foreign policy，including the Asia-Pacific policy，and reiterated China’s adherence to peaceful development，adherence to reform and opening up，and building a new type of international relations that show mutual respect，equity，and win-win cooperation，building a community of common human destiny. China will continue to adhere to the concept of joint development，negotiation and sharing，and is committed to building a new Asia-Pacific order that is inclusive，cooperative and win-win. It will actively provide public products and actively promote the “One Belt and One Road” initiative to match the development strategies of various countries. China will adhere to the principle of being a good neighbor and practicing the concept of sincerity and good-humor. It will continue to be the anchor of the source of economic growth and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Chinese President Xi Jinping said that if China is good，the world will be good，and only when world is good，can China develop better，and this is the truth.

It is against this background that many seemingly unsolvable problems and risks have either been resolved or controlled，and the Asia-Pacific region has entered a rare，benign development track. With the further cooling down of the peninsula issue，the world is relieved；the informal meeting between president Xi Jinping and prime minister Modi in Wuhan has given the world a hope for the cooperation of the two largest developing countries；on the eve of the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Japan，Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in an interview that he looked forward to the subsequent visit to China and looked forward to President Xi Jinping’s official visit to Japan. When French President Macron visited Australia，he agreed with Prime Minister Turnbull that “China is developing with an unprecedented scale and pace，” France and Australia “support the free flow in the Asia-Pacific region” and “welcome the rise of China’s economy. The rise of China is a very good thing for all people，” and Prime Minister Turnbull also specifically welcomed China’s further increase in investment in the region.

The Chinese government has always attached great importance to carrying out and strengthening communications with the public through think tanks. On January 20，2015，the Chinese government issued the “Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of a New Think Tank with Chinese Characteristics.” On November 9，2015，President Xi Jinping presided over the 18th meeting of The Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform and approved the establishment of 25 state-level high-end think tank pilot units. The National Global Strategic Think Tank of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is one of the 25 high-end think tanks specializing in researching on international political issues. Since its establishment，the think tank has closely followed key areas such as the “Belt and Road” Initiative，Global Strategy and Peripheral Security，and has strived to explore the road for the construction of new think tanks with Chinese characteristics and has formed a good momentum. It reflects the characteristics and specialties of the think tanks and has become a “outstanding student” among the 25 national high-end think tanks.

One of the experiences formed since the establishment of the National Global Strategic Think Tank was to take the approach of inviting in and going out to “open the door to think tanks” and extensively conduct intensive exchanges and communications with domestic and foreign counterparts. Among them，many domestic and foreign scholars and friends are present here. I hereby express my heartfelt thanks to all of you and hope that everyone will continue to support and care about the work the National Global Strategic Think Tank. At the same time，in order to better promote exchanges and cooperation between think tanks，better promote public communication，promote the in-depth development of relations in the Asia-Pacific region，and continue to upgrade the international influence and popularity think tank，I’ll take this opportunity to propose six points：

First，jointly plan topics and conduct research work. Through joint research and finding common interest concerns，it will help Asia-Pacific cooperation and implementation of the “Belt and Road” initiative be close to reality and close to the people. Second，establish an information sharing mechanism for academic achievements. To make regular or irregular academic exchanges is one of the best channels for maintaining interactions between think tanks，and it helps to deepen understanding and boost ideological interconnection. Third，we must cultivate talents together. We encourage think tanks to strengthen exchanges of scientific research personnel and foster postdoctoral fellows. Exchanges of visits can be short-term or long-term. The purpose is to cultivate specialized talents who are interested in and have a role in research in the Asia-Pacific region and the “One Belt and One Road.” Fourth，jointly publish research reports with influential stages or topics. By issuing a joint research report，and appealing to each other’s major concerns，publishing research reports can help generate a wide range of social influence and help boost government decision-making. Fifth，hold regular and periodic meetings. Holding conferences is the most direct way to strengthen ideological communication and helps to generate new ideas and suggestions. Sixth，establish a daily liaison mechanism and strengthen daily contact.

In November 2018，the APEC summit will be held in the capital of Papua New Guinea. I hope today’s forum will contribute its due intellectual support to the convening of the summit and use this as an opportunity to make this forum a platform for enhancing the exchange of ideas among think tanks in the Asia-Pacific region，and hope it can gather new ideas in searching for new developmental routes in the Asia-Pacific region，and will have breakthroughs and make contributions.

Vice President，Academic Member，Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Li Peilin

May 3，2018