On November 15, 2023, the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) of Tsinghua University and the UK National Committee on China (UKNCC) jointly organized a UK-China Roundtable Dialogue under the theme of “China’s Standing and Role on the International Stage” in London, UK. Nearly 30 attendees of experts and scholars from China and the UK and special guests interested in China-UK relations joined the event. It was moderated by Xiao Qian, Deputy Director of CISS. Ollie Shiell, Chief Executive of UKNCC, delivered a welcoming speech.

Participating experts had an in-depth discussion on topics of the UK’s perception of China, China’s current international status and role, and the effectiveness of international communication. The Chinese experts emphasized that although China has achieved rapid development in terms of economic aggregate, it still needs time to align with its new international status and meet external expectations in many areas. China is still in a growth phase and needs to accelerate its pace of growth and learning. As Chinese President Xi Jinping said, it is still necessary to “make great efforts to strengthen the building of international communication capacity, accelerate the enhancement of the international influence of Chinese discourse, and make China’s voice heard loud and clear by the whole world.”

Kerry Brown, Director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College, London; Todd Hall, Professor of the University of Oxford China Centre; Andrew Cainey, Senior Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute; Stephen Perry, Chairman of the 48 Group Club; Ollie Shiell, Chief Executive of UKNCC; and Cyril Poulopoulos, Deputy Director of the Great Britain-China Centre, were invited to attend the event. Chinese participating experts included Fu Ying, former Chinese Ambassador to the UK; Yao Yang, Dean of the National School of Development of Peking University; Zhang Jianping, Researcher of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce; Xiao Qian, Deputy Director of CISS; and Sun Chenghao and Shi Yan, Fellows of CISS.