On June 5, the Symposium on Guangdong and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road was held in Swasey Hall on South Campus of Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU). The symposium was cosponsored by Guangdong Development and Reform Committee, Administration of Ocean and Fisheries of Guangdong Province and Sun Yat-sen University, supported by Nanfang Media Group, and organized by Research Institute for National Soft Power, Institute for South China Seas Reginal Studies, School of Asia-Pacific Studies and School of Marine Sciences at SYSU. Zheng Detao, Secretary of SYSU Party Committee, and Wen Bin, Director General of Administration of Ocean and Fisheries of Guangdong Province, addressed the opening ceremony of the symposium. Li Chunhong, Director of Guangdong Development and Reform Committee, delivered a keynote speech. Mo Gaoyi, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Party Secretary and Chairman of Nanfang Media Group, attended the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was chaired by Chen Chunsheng, Executive Deputy Secretary and Vice President of SYSU.
Secretary Zheng Detao said that SYSU has a fine academic tradition in the research fields related to the Maritime Silk Road. At the beginning of the 20th century, SYSU began to study issues of Southeast Asia and overseas Chinese. Through the efforts of several generations, SYSU researchers continue to provide comprehensive and in-depth studies on Southeast Asia and South China Sea region in the fields of politics, history, culture, overseas Chinese and marine economy, laying a solid academic foundation for the research on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. He hoped that the scholars could take this symposium as a new starting point, work together to plan new highlights for the cooperation and development of Guangdong and Southeast Asian countries, and add new connotations to the values of peace, friendship, mutual benefit and win-win progress.
Li Chunhong (second from right), Mo Gaoyi (first from right), Wen Bin (first from left) and Chen Chunsheng (second from right) jointly unveiled the plaque of the "Research Institute of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road".
During the one-day symposium, a dozen renowned experts, including Prof. Liu Hong, Chair of School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Director of Nanyang Center for Public Administration, Nanyang Technological University; Prof. Pang Zhongying from School of International Studies, Renmin University of China; Prof. Ma Guoqing, Executive Deputy Director of Institute for South China Seas Reginal Studies at SYSU; and Prof. Wang Xiangnan from National Ocean Technology Center, discussed the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road from the aspects of economy and trade, science and technology research, as well as society and culture.
The symposium also announced the official establishment of the “Research Institute of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road” (hereinafter referred to as the "Research Institute"). Li Chunhong, Mo Gaoyi, Wen Bin and Chen Chunsheng jointly unveiled the plaque of the Research Institute.
It is reported that the Research Institute is established in response to the national strategic plan and provincial requirements to build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Based on the Institute for South China Seas Reginal Studies, the Research Institute for National Soft Power, the School of Asia-Pacific Studies and the School of Marine Sciences at SYSU, it will join hands with research institutions and universities in Guangdong, collaborate with academic organizations and universities in Beijing, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan and Fujian, establish in-depth communication mechanism with relevant departments in economy, science and technology, foreign affairs and national defence, conduct exchanges and cooperation with colleges and universities, social groups and academic organizations in countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road, and become a first-class research and policy consulting institute in the fields related to the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road through cross-disciplinary, cross-departmental and cross-regional collaborative innovation research. Meanwhile, the Research Institute will use the multidisciplinary comprehensive research strengths of SYSU to train high level talents with international vision and innovation ability, and increase the influence of Chinese culture in the region.