The 18th Annual Conference of Valdai International Debate Club was held in Sochi, Russia from October 18th to 21st, local time. Zhou Bo, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and Security Studies in Tsinghua University and a special expert at the China Forum, attended the meeting online and at the first meeting, "Is the epidemic a new world war or a prelude to it?" Give a speech. Zhou Bo said that the world is undergoing a great change that has not happened in a hundred years, and no change in the 21st century is more important than the rise of China. Faced with the competition initiated by the United States, today's China is in a more advantageous position in shaping the environment and avoiding war.

What does the escort work in the Gulf of Aden mean for China's naval construction? In the face of increasingly fierce maritime conflicts, what role does our escort work play? Han Hua, Member of China Forum Executive Committee and CGTN commentator, talked with Senior Colonel Zhou Bo (retired), senior fellow of Center for International Security and Strategy Tsinghua University, China Forum expert, and former director of the Center for Security Cooperation in the Office for International Military Cooperation, Ministry of National Defense. Zhou Bo reviewed the 13-year escort course of the Chinese navy from his personal experience.

The Taliban’s return to power has fundamentally changed the political environment of Afghanistan, both internally and externally. The internal leading forces inside Afghanistan have turned to be the Taliban instead of the political forces represented by the former Afghanistan government, and the external forces with the greatest political responsibility began to shift from the United States and Europe to the neighboring countries, including China and Russia.

ALARM BELLS are ringing about the state of democracy. Freedom House proclaims the “global decline in democracy has accelerated” and that even in America it has “declined significantly”. Much of the weakening is happening in countries that are aligned with America, according to research by the V-Dem Institute in Sweden. Larry Diamond, a political sociologist, argues that the “democratic recession” has reached a “crisis”, intensified by the pandemic. There are many diagnoses. Francis Fukuyama, a political scientist, believes the American government is captured by elites and the public is divided by cultural identities. And then there are those who always reach for the easy answer, blaming China and Russia.

What best represents China's military strength? The answer: its navy.

The joint pledge of China and the United States at the COP26 conference in Glasgow to cut emissions is like an oasis in a desert, considering their badly strained ties. But it shouldn’t be a surprise. In facing a common threat looming large over their own survival, major powers know when they need to act together.

Video-Speech at The Panel Discussion on “The Future of Afghanistan and Its Impact on Regional Security” by Dr. Yue Xiaoyong, Sp. Envoy for Afghanistan, MFA of China, and a China Forum Expert

Keynote Speech by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at the Qingdao Forum of China-EU Entrepreneurs Summit 2021 (Qingdao, China, November 18th, 2021)

Following the 2021 Taihe Civilizations Forum, the Taihe International Communications Center hosted an online discussion on October 8 that captures the candid and profound reflections of senior officials whose actions have shaped the course of ties between China and the United States. Dr. Thomas Fingar, Shorenstein APARC Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, former Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, and former Assistant Secretary of State, and Senior Colonel Zhou Bo (ret.), Senior Fellow at Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, China Forum Expert, and former Director of Center for Security Cooperation of the Office for International Military Cooperation of Ministry of National Defense, were invited to join this dialogue.

Renowned Chinese sailor Zhai Mo and two crew members embarked on a four-month voyage beginning at the end of June this year, attempting to circumnavigate the Arctic for the first time in human history. However, Canada stopped their sailboat in the Arctic Ocean near Lancaster Sound, a part of the Northwest Passage.

On September 16th, China formally submitted its application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), which aroused strong repercussions from world public opinion. Why did China make this decision? What kind of signal does this move send? Can China successfully join CPTPP? What impact will China's accession have on its own country and its member States? Zhou Mi, China Forum Expert and deputy director of the Institute of Americas and Oceania, China Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce, talked with Han Hua, executive committee of China Forum and CGTN commentator, on the above issues.

On October 18th, the 18th Annual Meeting of the Russian Valdai International Debate Club officially opened. About 140 participants attended the opening ceremony, including 65 officials and scholars from 45 countries. Zhou Bo was invited to give a speech at the first meeting of the annual meeting with the theme "Substitute for a World War or a Prelude to It?". This is the full text of his speech.

We at CHINA FORUM (CF) are very happy that we had a successful virtual conference with IREE last June with support of the Chinese Embassy in Brasilia and then CF and IREE established formal partnership. The co-hosted conference focused on the responsibility of political parties in a changing world where chairpersons of seven Brazilian political parties, several Chinese political scientists and Chinese ambassador to Brazil took part. With the partnership between CF and IREE, we agreed to continue with conferences on various themes and organize articles introducing China and Brazil to each other’s readers.

In 1999, Gerald Segal, then Director of Research at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, made a considerable splash with his essay “Does China matter?” in Foreign Affairs. Touching upon the economic, political and strategic issue of China, his overall conclusion was that China’s importance had been greatly exaggerated. For Mr Segal, China is but a small market ‘that matters little to the world, especially outside Asia’.

China submitted its formal application this month to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). During this time of turbulence in international trade, and of progress and reform in China, it serves as a strong signal that China intends to stay open internationally and improve economic standards domestically.

The dust from the Afghan war has yet to settle but the fallout is clear. With the ending of the US global crusade on terrorism, the prelude to President Joe Biden’s “extreme competition” with China has begun. The question is: how long will it last?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit will be held in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, on Thursday and Friday to discuss, among other things, what role the organization should play in addressing the Afghanistan issue, especially because the war the United States launched in 2001 has not only increased poverty but also reversed the economic development cycle in the country.

The outside world is wondering what signals China''''''''s recent supervision of market monopoly has released, which will lead to capital flight? Will China weaken the market economy for the sake of socialism when the government throws heavy punches at capital? On September 4th, "Intelligence on the World, Europe and Italy" of Ambrose Forum in China was held in Shanghai. Li Shimo, Vice Chairman of China Forum and Director of Advisory Committee of China Research Institute of Fudan University, spoke at the meeting to interpret the relationship between state and capital.

What signals do the recent strengthening of state regulation on online car hailing platforms and educational institutions send? How will the tightening of U.S. monetary policy affect emerging markets and global stock markets? How can China and the U.S. better coordinate their fiscal and monetary policies? Dr Yu Xiang, visiting researcher at the Center For International Security and Strategy (CISS) of Tsinghua University, China Forum expert, and senior researcher at the China Construction Bank''s Research Institute, elaborates on the strategic logic behind the above policy issues.

Looking at the current situation in Afghanistan, the main cause of the chaotic disaster and crisis is the hasty, irresponsible withdrawal of US and NATO troops without any real responsible arrangement for the stability and peace of the country. The US should draw lessons from the last 20 years.

Raffaello Pantucci is a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. This article is his view on US's withdrawal from Afghanistan.