On March 18-19, the Ditchley conference themed “Europe and the UK: building a new partnership after Brexit” was held. Mr. ZHANG Lirong, Secretary General of the China Forum under the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, and Mr. GAO Jian, China Forum Expert, spoke at the international event.

Participants discussed issues including UK-EU economic competition and cooperation, defending democracy and diplomatic, defense and security cooperation, and shared regional and global challenges.

Many believe that the first phase of Brexit is done, but its long-term consequences are just beginning. The UK will need to decide in the years ahead how far it is in its interests to diverge from norms set by the EU and the EU will have to decide to what standards it will hold the UK in complying with those norms.

On China-UK/EU relations, the Chinese participants noted that China has always and, despite Brexit, will continue to support European integration and a greater role for Europe in the international arena. The EU plus the UK and China have too strong economic complementarities and interdependence to “decouple” from each other, and there are solid potentials for cooperation across a range of fields.

Furthermore, the Chinese experts stressed that China is dedicated to advancing its scientific and technological innovation, delivering on climate and environmental commitments, empowering its rural areas, promoting consumption and its service sector, and opening wider to the world, bringing tremendous opportunities for Europe.

Turning to China’s achievements today, the Chinese participants cited diligence of generations of hard-working Chinese people which deserves due respect of the international community, and called for countries to uphold multilateralism and the UN-centered international system and to resolve disputes through consultation and cooperation.