On October 6th and 7th, 2017, The Confucius Institute at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University along with Southwestern University of Finance and Economics successfully held the Third China-Central and Eastern Europe Forum in Ohrid, Macedonia. This forum is themed on the role of human resources in the Belt and Road Initiative. Mr. Gorge Ivanov, the president of Macedonia; Ms. Yin Lixian, the Chinese Ambassador to Macedonia, and Professor Nikola Jankulovsk, the president of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, , attended the forum and delivered speeches. More than 100 professors, experts and scholars from 17 countries and regions including China, Macedonia, the United States, Australia, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Slovenia, Albania, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Georgia, Qatar and Hong Kong attended the forum.
Gorge Ivanov said that China is once again close to the status of world’s largest economy like it once was two hundred years ago. With this process, China has made great achievements in many fields. Central and Eastern European countries can benefit from China’s achievements, especially in technology and innovation. He pointed out that the infrastructure construction projects supported by China are indeed important for the Central and Eastern European countries, but we also need cooperation in education, technology and culture. Ms. Yin Lixian, Chinese Ambassador to Macedonia, said in her speech that the Belt and Road initiative is originated in China, but belongs to the world. In just a few years, the initiative has been transformed from a theoretical concept to a practical action. She also pointed out that The 16+1 cooperation fit for the Belt and Road initiative is an important innovation in China-EU friendly cooperation and an important platform to promote the Belt and Road initiative in Central and Eastern Europe. Professor Nikola Jankulovsk emphasized the significance of the Belt and Road Initiative for cooperation in advanced education and scientific research between Central and Eastern European countries and China. At last, Chinese Dean Liao Wei expressed his gratitude to Hanban, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, for their strong support on behalf of the organizer of the forum.
The conference was divided into two stages: keynote speech and group discussion. In the keynote speech stage, Professor Chen Xin, director of the European Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the Belt and Road initiative is not limited to infrastructure construction and trade, but more importantly, it is about sustainable development. Human capital will play an important role in the implementation of the Belt and Road initiative. Professor Howard Davis of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University said that the most important thing in the Belt and Road initiative is to truly understand China. However, Western media’s reports and analysis of China often have obvious misunderstandings. He said that this misunderstanding is due to the difference in structure and culture between China and Europe, and second, because Western media are observing and commenting on China in ideological laziness. Professor Kirklowski of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University believes that at the beginning of the new millennium, the only new element for the Balkans and Central and Eastern European countries is China. Even for Europe and the wider world, China is a new, proactive socio-economic and political presence. Especially for Balkans and Eastern European countries, China will lead the deeper cultural, economic and even geopolitical change. He concluded that we still need to open our minds and learn the Belt and Road Initiative profoundly from all aspects.
In the group discussion, scholars from more than ten countries and regions are divided into different groups to discuss about four topics – relations between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, language and translation, One Belt and One Road and its dimensions and human capital. There are many collisions of opinions and thoughts in this session. Professor Cao Dejun of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics made a wonderful speech about Sichuan Free Trade Zone: Goals, Planning and Business Opportunities and accepted interviews from several media outlets in Macedonia as representatives of participating scholars. During the two-day conference, Chinese Xinhua net, Macedonian National News Agency (MIA), Macedonian National Broadcasting Corporation (MRT), Macedonian Urban Voice (Urban FM) radio, TELMA TV, SITEL TV, ALFA TV, KANAL5, 24TV, ALSAT TV and MTM have reported on the conference in an all-round way, and the Macedonian community has responded enthusiastically.
(By Jiahui)