On May 30, the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) of Tsinghua University held its 5th Management Committee meeting. Xiang Botao, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Tsinghua University Committee and Director of the Management Committee, Yang Yongheng, Director of Office of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Administration of Tsinghua University and Member of the Management Committee, Zeng Xianlai, Deputy Director of the Tsinghua University Think Tank Center, and Huang Chunmei, Director of the Research & Development Affairs Office of Tsinghua University attended the meeting upon invitation. CISS Director Da Wei, Deputy Director Chen Qi, and some other fellows joined the meeting, which was moderated by Xiao Qian, Deputy Director of CISS.
Group Photo of the Participants
Xiang Botao pointed out that CISS had made solid and fruitful progress in developing academic research, talent training, policy consulting, and international cooperation and exchange in 2022. The next step for the Center is to focus on the major national strategic demands, make good use of the catalyst of interdisciplinary integration, and strengthen the exchange and cooperation with agencies inside and outside Tsinghua University to create interdisciplinary exchange platforms, form more high-level academic outcomes, tell China’s story and spread Chinese experience to the world. The Center will strive to become a domestically top and internationally renowned think tank in strategic security, and better support and serve Tsinghua University’s construction of a world-class university.
Da Wei reported to the Management Committee on the work of CISS in 2022. In the face of the increasingly complicated international situation in 2022, CISS, focusing on the research of “China and Asia”, carried out studies, and thereby issued multiple reports on how to open up new opportunities in a crisis-ridden and constantly changing world, covering international order, China-U.S. relations, China-EU relations, neighboring diplomacy, Ukraine crisis, artificial intelligence and governance, Afghanistan issue, and international communication. CISS submitted 115 issues of newsletters, meeting minutes, or policy reports to the relevant departments of the central government and State Council last year. CISS cooperated and exchanged ideas with several top academic institutions in China and abroad, and held a series of academic seminars and events.
CISS relied on “China Forum” to actively support top-notch Chinese experts and scholars to attend international forums, tell China’s story, and make China’s voice heard, Da Wei said. In 2022, the Center recommended experts to attend more than 26 major forums and meetings. Over 30 experts of China Forum published more than 100 articles on international and domestic media, journals, and websites of think tanks, including 49 articles on foreign-language media. They had 24 interviews with foreign media during which they actively promoted, explained, and disseminated China’s ideas and policy propositions, enhancing the international community’s understanding of China.
Da Wei stressed that as a University-affiliated think tank, CISS actively served the University’s talent training programs, undertaking the teaching of Tsinghua’s public elective course “Contemporary World and China”, organizing CISS Talks, providing consultation for the series events of “Tsinghua University Student Association of International and Strategic Studies”, and supporting the “CISS Youth” project to recruit excellent interns. CISS closely combined talent training with think tank construction to cultivate young students and scholars with strategic vision and international perspective, Da said.
At last, according to Da Wei, in the past 4 years since the founding of CISS, thanks to the strong leadership of the CPC Tsinghua University Committee and the professional guidance of the Tsinghua University Think Tank Center, CISS had now become a think tank featuring a certain level of international reputation and influence in international strategy and security studies, and a new type of think tank with distinct characteristics that has drawn wide attention of the industry. In the future, all CISS staff will continue to work hard to build the Center into a leading think tank in China with an international reputation in the field of strategy and security.
During the meeting, the members of the Management Committee reviewed and approved the proposals by the Center on its future development and shared their expectations in this regard. Yang Yongheng suggested that CISS should fully utilize its advantages and influence in strategic research to facilitate the University’s international relations discipline construction and further ameliorate the knowledge system, talent training, and research team construction. Zeng Xianlai said that CISS achieved significant results in international exchange and brand building last year. He suggested that the Center strengthen cooperation with other think tanks on campus in the future to achieve synergy. Huang Chunmei indicated that the research of CISS was typically interdisciplinary, and she suggested a further integration with the departments and research institutions of other disciplines on campus to tell China’s story in a manner the advantages of Tsinghua University were shown.