2024.03.21
Grandview Institution 2024.03.25 15:11 Beijing
On the afternoon of March 21, 2024, Stephen Biegun, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, along with Jonathan Powell, President and Founder of Inter Mediate, a UK-based crisis mediation organization, were invited to “Grand the View Lecture Hall”. They gave speeches on the theme of "International Crisis Mediation and China's Opportunities" and interacted with Chinese international political scholars, Chinese and foreign graduate students, and other on-site audiences.
Stephen Biegun said that over the years, China has been actively participating in international crisis mediations by sending envoys to mediate for the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Middle East crisis, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and so on, but there is still a great deal of potential that has yet to be tapped into. China needs to play and is capable of playing a part in international crisis mediation. The international community would appreciate China's further involvement. However, mediating international crises also requires a certain amount of capital investment, a certain price to pay, and even a certain degree of risk to take, especially in areas closely related to China's national interests. He pointed out that after China successfully facilitated the reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the United States reacted with skepticism and resentment at first, and then came to realize that China's success in the crisis mediation was beneficial for U.S. national interests. In addition, China and the United States have made concerted efforts and achieved remarkable results on the North Korean nuclear issue, creating a successful precedent for cooperation between the two countries to address regional crises.
Mr. Jonathan Powell said that with the rise of China's comprehensive national strength and international influence, Beijing can and should play an important role as a mediator in today's crisis-ridden world. China's facilitation of the Iranian-Saudi rapprochement has impressed the world with its mediation capabilities and raised hopes for Beijing's involvement in resolving many other regional crises. Mr. Powell stressed that for the earlier resolution of the crises, the West would like to see China take up a first-tier role in mediating international crises, not only as a mediator but also as a promotor for the relevant parties to get into the peace process.
"Grand the View Lecture Hall" aims to create an open international academic exchange platform, inviting top scholars from domestic and foreign think tanks, famous diplomats, and governmental decision-makers to analyze current affairs, explain the decision-making intention to the public, and clarify the complicated shift of the global landscape in this century so that the public can view the world more clearly.