Photo taken during the 9th Young Leaders Roundtable in Beijing
These dialogues, co-hosted with our Chinese partner organisation, the All-China Youth Federation (ACYF), have focused on the theme of ‘good global governance’ with each session examining a different aspect of this topic.
These dialogues, co-hosted with our Chinese partner organisation, the All-China Youth Federation (ACYF), have focused on the theme of ‘good global governance’ with each session examining a different aspect of this topic.
The opening session in July included Conservative and Labour parliamentarians while the Chinese delegation was led by Ms Wang Hongyan, the ACYF President and former Mayor of Shiyan City (Hubei) and included representatives from the NPC, CPPCC and Central Party School. The participants delved into the UK and China’s respective approaches to global governance, addressing multilateral institutions, values, norms and building resilience in the international rules-based system. The session did not shy away from contentious issues including human rights in Xinjiang and the unfolding political situation in Hong Kong.
In September, the second session was held on the topic of environment and sustainability, relevant in the lead up to COP26 and COP15 on Biodiversity, hosted in Glasgow and Kunming in 2021, respectively. The UK delegation included a government minister, a shadow minister, parliamentarians from both the Conservative and Labour parties and observers from Prudential Plc and China Dialogue. The Chinese delegation was led by Ms Zhang Dan, the Vice President and Director-General of the United Nations Association of China with representatives from the NPC, CPPCC and State Council. This session covered a range of technical and policy initiatives including nature-based solutions, the Global Oceans Alliance, emissions reductions and multilateral coordination on greening the global supply chain.
The third session was held in December and addressed global trade, supply chains and prosperity. The UK delegation included Conservative and Labour MPs and representatives from No. 10 and Prudential Plc. The Chinese delegation was led by Mr Li Bingji, NPC Delegate for the Zhi Gong Party and included representatives from MOFCOM, NDRC and Renmin University of China. The timing of this session was politically significant as it followed China’s recent announcement of the 14th Five-Year Plan, giving insight into General Secretary Xi Jinping’s new ‘dual circulation’ strategy whilst the UK approached its negotiation deadline with the EU on the future trading relationship with the bloc. Discussions were anchored around post-pandemic economic recoveries, market access and complementarity, and the sustainability of multilateral trading mechanisms.
The online series in 2020 demonstrated an adaptability of bilateral dialogues whilst continuing to provide breadth of topic engagement. The three sessions were critical in maintaining engagement and setting the agenda for the 10th Roundtable, dates of which are currently under discussion.