▲ Opening ceremony of Shanghai Forum 2020

The opening ceremony of the 15th Shanghai Forum themed “Asia’s New Journey: The Decade Ahead” was held on December 18, bringing together over 600 experts around the world. Representatives of think-tanks, academia, government, media and so on attended the forum either in person or through teleconferencing.

The ceremony was moderated by Jiao Yang, chair of Fudan University Council. Xu Ningsheng, president of Fudan University addressed the ceremony, Chey Tae-won, chairman and CEO of SK Holdings and Paula Lehtomäki, secretary general of the Nordic Council of Ministers made speeches via videos.

▲ Jiao Yang

▲ Xu Ningsheng

▲ Chey Tae-won

▲ Paula Lehtomäki

Keynote speeches were delivered by Susan Thornton, former acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs; Zhang Yunling, member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and dean of the Institute of International Studies of Shandong University; Oliver Hart, 2016 Nobel laureate in economics; Wei Shangjin, visiting professor at Fanhai International School of Finance, Fudan University and tenured chair professor of Columbia University; and Zhou Hanmin, vice chairman of Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and former deputy director general of the Executive Committee of Shanghai Expo 2010. Choi Byung-il, president of Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, moderated this session.

▲ Choi Byung-il

▲ Susan Thornton

▲ Zhang Yunling

▲ Oliver Hart

▲ Wei Shangjin

▲ Zhou Hanmin

Before the forum, six sessions, “Book Launch: Elderly Care and Risk Management for Chinese Women”, “Green Finance Supports the Optimization of Energy Structure”, “Eurasian Cooperation in the Post-pandemic Era”, “Global Cyberspace Strategic Stability and the New Order in Cyberspace Governance”, “Book Launch: East-West Reflections on Demonization”, “Opportunities and Challenges for Economic and Medical Development in Asia in the Next Decade” had been held since August.

Another three roundtables, held on December 18 and 19, were entitled “The Future of Northeast Asia in the Changing World”, “East Asian Regional Cooperation under the Condition of Global Alienation” and “Multilateral Trade and Sustainable Development in the Post-pandemic Era”.

Shanghai Forum, launched in 2005, is known as one of the most famous international forums held in Shanghai. Co-hosted by Fudan University and Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, undertaken by Fudan Development Institute (FDDI), the forum is a non-governmental and non-profit academic organization, of which the annual symposiums have been attended by nearly 5,000 people over the 15 years.

With its mission to “Concentrate on Asia, Focus on Hot Issues, Congregate Elites, Promote Interactions, Enhance Cooperation and Seek Consensus”, Shanghai Forum endeavors to build an interactive platform for multilateral communication among academic, political, commercial, and press circles. Harnessing innovation as the core driver, the forum provides solutions for regional development, national strategies and building a community with a shared future for mankind. In addition, by pooling the wisdom of think tanks around the world, the Forum helps forging Shanghai into an international metropolis with socialist characteristics and international hub of economy, finance, trade, aviation and technology.

Shanghai Forum has invited roundtable partners around the world. Well-known enterprises, universities, think tanks, media at home and abroad have actively participated in the forum. With an open mind, a strategic perspective and global vision, the Forum, based in Shanghai, continues to promote two-way dialogue between China and the world, and to seek joint solutions to the challenges in the world, in order to build a shared future of mankind.