The Academic Seminar on the Construction of a Community with Shared Future for Mankind and the Annual Conference of Beijing International Law Society was held in Beijing on December 2, 2018. The seminar, sponsored by Beijing Society of International Law and organized by CASS Institute of International Law, was attended by about 100 experts and scholars from such universities and research institutions as Beijing Society of International Law, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing University of Technology, University of International Business and Economics, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing University of Foreign Studies, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Central University of Finance and Economics, National Prosecutors College, China Foreign Affairs University, North China University of Technology, Zhongshan University and CASS Institute of Law as well as officials from such government organs as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce.
At the opening ceremony, presided over by Professor Liu Huawen, Vice President of Beijing International Law Society and Assistant Director of CASS Institute of International Law, Chen Guoping, Secretary of the Joint Party Committee of CASS Law Institute and CASS Institute of International Law, Professor Li Shouping, President of Beijing International Law Society and Dean of the Law School of Beijing Institute of Technology, each gave a speech, in which they summarized the achievements made and the challenges faced by Chinese international law scholars in the year 2018.
Next, Mr. Li Yongsheng, a counsellor at the Department of Treaties and Laws of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Yu Fang, a section chief at the Department of Treaties and Laws of the Ministry of Commerce, and Professor Zhao Kejin, Deputy Dean of the School of Social Science of Tsinghua University, each gave keynote speech on hot issues in the current development of international law, crises in the multilateral trade system and China’s responses, and strategic competition between China and the US and its root causes, respectively.
In the afternoon session, the participants were divided into three groups: “public international law”, “private international law” and “international economic law”. The first group carried out discussions on such issues as the building of a community with shared future for mankind, the international protection of human rights and the right to self-determination, the issue of the Korean Peninsula, the regulation of autonomous weapons and the corresponding responsibilities, and the crime of terrorism.
Issues discussed by the second group included the development and reform of the private international law science in China, cross-border flow of data, efforts made by China for the return of Chinese cultural relics from Japan, mechanisms for the resolution of disputes over international railway transportation, temporary judicial assistance for arbitration, and international commercial settlement agreements. The third group were divided into two subgroups, in which the participants discussed various issues relating to “the reform of the WTO” and “state-owned enterprises, competition and resolution of investment disputes”.
At the end of the conference, a ceremony was held for the awarding of prizes for excellent papers of young scholars. Professor Li Qingming, an associate research fellow at CASS Institute of Law, won the first prized and Dr. Ma Jinxing, a post-doctoral researcher at CASS Institute of International Law, won the second prize.
