On the afternoon of May 24, the China Forum-China Review Think Tank Forum: Challenges and Opportunities for Security in Northeast Asia was held in Beijing. Hosted by China Forum under Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Security (CISS) and the China Review Think Tank Foundation, the event looked at the situation in the Taiwan Strait, China-Japan-ROK relations, China-US relations, security in Northeast Asia, and the US Indo-Pacific strategy.

The G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué reflects the common position of the grouping’s members and their interests and values, said Yuan Zheng, deputy director of the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. It shows that the US is leading other Western countries in a “containment of China.” He said that China should maintain strategic patience and go beyond the bilateral structure of the US-China rivalry, while focusing on improving its national governance and economy.

Hu Jiping, vice president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, reckoned that there are four features in how the situation in Northeast Asia will evolve: the intensification of confrontation between major powers, the formation of blocs, growing security tensions, and conflict between certain countries and China as the regional security focus.

According to Dong Xiangrong, a researcher at the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, public opinion in South Korea is becoming increasingly conservative, leaving less room for future strategic adjustments. There is a big gap between the perceptions of China and South Korea about each other, he added. Regarding the “Asia-Pacific version of NATO,” Dong said that there is a limit on how far cooperation between South Korea and Japan can go.

Zhao Minghao, a professor at the Center for American Studies, Fudan University and a China Forum expert, said the US talked more of “de-risking” instead of “decoupling” from China in this G7 summit, yet in reality it is still exploiting countries’ concerns about economic security to forge supply chain alliances against China. He also warned against a multilateral sanctions regime against China by the US and its allies.

Da Wei, director of CISS, vice chair of China Forum and professor of international relations at Tsinghua, said that China-related content in this year’s G7 communiqué has increased significantly compared with previous ones, and the grouping is working to devise a “common China policy” under US leadership. Geopolitically, Asia-Pacific and Europe are the two key regions for China, as they will play a crucial role in determining the future direction of the China-US competition. According to Professor Da, China should not hand over the discourse right on the “rule-based order” to the West.

Zhang Lirong, secretary general of China Forum, made concluding remarks. The forum was moderated by Professor Da Wei.

The China Forum-China Review Think Tank Forum is the latest cooperation project between China Forum under Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy and the China Review Think Tank Foundation.