The 5th China-ROK Public Diplomacy Peace Forum, themed on "Exploring New Modes of China-ROK Cooperation in the New Situation of the Peninsula", was held at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Seoul on December 4^th, 2019.

Moon Hee-sang, National Assembly Speaker of the Republic of Korea (ROK), Kim Jin-pyo, Park Jeung, both National Assembly members of the ROK, An Ping-lung, Mayor of Uijeongbu-Si of Gyeonggi-do, ROK, Han Fangming, Chairman of the Charhar Institute of China, Zhang Guobin, Vice President of the Council of the Charhar Institute, and more than 200 experts and scholars from China and ROK attended the forum.    

During the 5th China-ROK Public Diplomacy Peace Forum held at the National Assembly of ROK on Dec. 4th, 2019

In his opening remark at the forum, Chairman Han Fangming said that China-ROK Public Diplomacy Peace Forum, which has been held for four consecutive sessions, has become an important bridge for the two countries to talk about peace issues in East Asia and strategies of cooperation. It has also made a big impact on the public diplomacy community of Northeast Asia.

Han noted that in recent years, China and ROK have rationally managed their differences and built more active, effective and inclusive cooperation in the fields of political security, social development, cultural exchanges, etc. However, as far as the issue of peace building on the Korean Peninsula is concerned, there are still many obstacles to the cooperation between China and ROK. The road to peace in Northeast Asia still seems to be very long. 

Chairman of the Charhar Institute Han Fangming speaks at the forum.

Han remarked that against the backdrop of changes that have taken place on the Peninsula, both China and ROK have strong desire for cooperation. Yet, they still face considerable pressure. As on how to overcome the pressure and upscale China-ROK cooperation, we still need to explore more effective new modes.           

He said that as a non-governmental think tank on diplomacy and international relations and an important NGO with friendly relations with ROK, the Charhar Institute has paid much attention to peace and reconciliation issues in Northeast Asia, public diplomacy, and especially city diplomacy.

He added the Charhar Institute will, as always, continue to promote exchanges and dialogues with relevant organizations of ROK and commit itself to building healthy, stable and positive relations between China and ROK in the future, and contribute more to the peace of the Korean Peninsula.           

In his congratulatory speech, Moon Hee-sung, Speaker of the National Assembly of ROK, reviewed the history of the ROK-China bilateral relations as well as his own experience of exchanges with people from all walks of life in China. In particular, he talked about his visit to China this May, and remarked that "New clothes are better than old one, but old friends are better than the new ones." 

He expressed hope for further promoting the healthy and lasting development of the bilateral relations together with the efforts of people of different circles.     

National Assembly Speaker of ROK Moon Hee-sung speaks at the forum.

An Ping-lung, Mayor of ROK’s Uijeongbu-Si which is the co-sponsor of the Forum, said that during the very time when the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) had triggered the fluctuation of ROK-China relations, the Charhar Institute, as a non-governmental think tank headed by Chairman Han Fangming, shuttled between the two countries and made a big contribution to the return of the bilateral relations back to norm, which has become an example of conducting public diplomacy on promoting inter-state relations. 

Mayor of ROK’s Uijeongbu-Si An Ping-lung speaks at the forum.

He noted given the current complex China-US relations, ROK-Japan relations and North Korea-US relations, we should give play to the role of public diplomacy and explore new forms for improving the relations between relevant countries.    

Wang Luxin, Envoy of the Chinese Embassy in ROK, attended the forum and read the congratulation letter on behalf of China’s ambassador to the ROK Qiu Guohong. Ambassador Qiu said in his congratulatory letter that China-ROK relations are now ushering in new development opportunities and China is willing to work with the ROK to continuously deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, so as to better benefit the two countries and peoples.           

Ambassador Qiu Guohong also said in his congratulatory letter that as a non-governmental think tank of China, the Charhar Institute has always been actively committed to building exchange platforms in the fields of public diplomacy, international relations and other fields, and providing policy suggestions and innovative ideas to the government, which has played an important role in enhancing the understanding and cooperation among countries.  

An Ping-lung (L), Mayor of ROK's Uijeongbu-Si, exchanges gifts with Han Fangming (R), Chairman of the Charhar Institute, at the event.

Wang Chong, Senior Fellow at the Charhar Institute, expressed his views on the opportunities and challenges faced by the economic integration of China, Japan and ROK in his speech at the forum, and suggested on scaling up the China-ROK Public Diplomacy Peace Forum to a grand event jointly participated by the three countries, China, Japan and ROK. 

Wang Chong, Senior Fellow at the Charhar Institute, speaks at the forum.

Dr. Lee Chang Hyung, Researcher of ROK’s National Defense Research Institute, delivered a keynote speech entitled on "Direction of ROK-China Cooperation in the Denuclearization and Peace System of the Korean Peninsula". He expounded his views on the respective positions of the two countries, his ideas on denuclearization and peace mechanism as well as on how the two countries can cooperate in a better way.  

Experts at the forum  

Han Xiandong, Deputy Director of the Korean Peninsula Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, Ouyang Junshan, Senior Fellow at the Charhar Institute, and many renowned experts and scholars from ROK also attended the forum and delivered speeches on relevant topics.

Group photo of the Forum's participants in front of a statue of nationalist An Jung-geun

Copy Editor: Zhu Yanhong