The 11th East Lake Forum on Global Governance was held at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) on Nov 15. Hosted by HUST and organized by its Institute of State Governance and the Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for State Governance, the forum brought together senior officials, experts, and scholars from China and abroad.

Chair of the University Committee Liu Bo noted that this year’s theme, “Party Politics and Global Governance”, reflects the forum’s focus on global governance initiatives, the evolving role of political parties and governance innovations across the Global South. She emphasized HUST’s continued commitment to advancing research in digital and international governance and highlighted the forum’s value in contributing practical insights to global governance reform.

Chen Guohua, deputy director of the Department of Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, encouraged participants to deepen discussions on three topics: building an independent Chinese theoretical framework for global governance, fostering dialogue across civilizations, and strengthening policy-oriented research to enhance the social impact of think tanks.

The forum featured two keynote sessions and one sub-forum, with 37 experts speaking and over 130 participants attending.

At the first keynote session, 11 experts, including Professor Li Junru, former vice president of the National Academy of Governance, Chen Junfeng from the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, and Professor Jin Canrong from the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, discussed topics such as China’s proactive role in global governance, governance theory in the era of artificial intelligence, and the importance of upholding contractual integrity and the authority of international law.

The second keynote session brought together 14 experts, including Professor Huang Renwei, executive vice president of the Fudan Institute of Belt and Road and Global Governance, and Researcher Yu Chongsheng from HUST. Their presentations focused on the influence of EU party politics on society and global governance, as well as asymmetric party systems as a new representation of China’s political system.

Young scholars from universities such as Zhejiang University, Wuhan University and Sichuan University joined the sub-forum, which gave them the chance to participate in in-depth exchanges.

Across all sessions, participants shared perspectives on party politics, global governance reforms, multilateral cooperation, political party diplomacy and governance innovation in the Global South, offering diverse insights and contributing to a rich exchange of ideas at this year’s forum.

Source: Institute of State Governance of HUST