You are here: Home > China > Nation

Adjust font size:

A group of young politicians and elites from business, academic and media circles in both China and the U.K. engaged in a heated discussion on Dec. 6 and 7 in Shanghai over how the two countries can work together to keep globalization on track.

The 6th China-U.K. Young Leaders Roundtable is held in Shanghai between Dec. 6 and 7, 2016. [Photo by Guo Yiming/China.org.cn]

The 6th China-U.K. Young Leaders Roundtable, which was held on the sidelines of the 4th Meeting of China-U.K. High-Level People-to-People Dialogue, drew over 30 young elites from various circles to discuss the theme of “Trend of Globalization & China-U.K. Global Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the 21st Century.”

The event came at a time of major western "turbulence" in wake of the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union, Donald Trump's winning of the U.S. Presidential election and Italy's recent failure with Matteo Renzi's referendum, which some say represent a trending toward populism.

“It's very important that we come here and listen to what our Chinese colleagues had to say about these recent developments, and they actually provided some optimism about what would be probably a very turbulent century,” Wes Streeting, a Labour MP for Ilford North, told China.org.cn as he recognized the real danger of globalization being knocked off course.

"Our determination here is to keep globalization on track by recognizing the people and countries that are currently being left behind by globalization and working out how we can make sure that the benefits of globalization are felt by countries right across the world, rather than by only the privileged few," said Streeting.

"There are too many nationalist and populist forces in the world now, but China and Britain have got a very strong interest to keep the world open," said Liam Byrne, Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and co-founder of the China-U.K. Young Leader's Roundtable, in an interview with China.org.cn.

"We have an interest to support China in reform of multilateral institutions by creating new regional structures like the Belt and Road Initiative and working more closely together on development issues around the world," said Byrne.

Sir Martin Davidson, Chairman of Great Britain China Centre, also looks on the bright side. "Sometimes we are too pessimistic about globalization; it's now going through a difficult time at the moment.”

“The biggest challenge for us is how to make globalization more open, fairer and more inclusive for everybody,” he added

Global challenges require a global solution, which should be created by all countries in equal participation, said Wang Hongyan, vice president of the All-China Youth Federation. She also calls for a multilateral participation system that involves all stakeholders of the society.

From polite conversation to meaningful conversation

Since its founding in 2010, the China-U.K. Young Leaders Roundtable has served as a platform to facilitate mutual understanding and friendship.

"We've moved from having polite conversations to having more meaningful conversations," said Davidson, who sees it as a great opportunity for young British politicians and members of the parliament to see what China is like and to have conversations with their counterparts.

“When we created the young leaders forum six years ago, it was a little bit formal and ceremonial, and then it moved to being much more candid and creative,” said Byrne.

John Woodcock, Labour MP for Barrow and Furness, told China.org.cn that he hopes that the two countries can work together under the auspices of these dialogue mechanisms and broker out more cooperation programs in various fields while jointly reshaping the rules of global governance so that it can accommodate China's rise and maintain stability as well as the rule of law.

Print E-mail

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)

Add your comments...

• User Name Required
• Your Comment
• Enter the words you see:    
  Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.