PolyU hosts seminar on “Challenges and Opportunities of China’s Diplomacy in the New Era”, featuring keynote speeches by former ambassadors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) Research Centre for Chinese History and Culture, Confucius Institute of Hong Kong and Mainland Development Office, in collaboration with the China Foreign Affairs University, today hosted the seminar “Challenges and Opportunities of China’s Diplomacy in the New Era”. The event featured keynote speeches by two eminent former ambassadors from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who shared their insights on cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC), and evolving China-Russia relations. Over 200 PolyU faculty members, students, alumni and members of the public attended to learn about the development of China’s foreign policy and the challenges and opportunities that the Nation is facing.

Dr LAM Tai-fai, PolyU Council Chairman remarked, “China’s peaceful rise, fuelled by reform and opening-up, has elevated it to become the world’s second-largest economy, significantly enhancing its global standing. In this new era, Hong Kong must fully leverage both the advantages of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle and its unique role as a ‘super connector’ to support the Nation’s diplomatic efforts and contribute to its broader foreign policy strategy. In line with the mandate of tertiary institutions developing future-ready leaders, PolyU is committed to nurturing socially responsible students with a strong sense of national pride and a global perspective, equipping them to drive societal progress and contribute to the Nation’s development. This includes requiring undergraduate students to take courses in Chinese history and culture.

We extend our gratitude to the ambassadors for their valuable insights, which have deepened the University community’s understanding of the characteristics, strategies and practices of China’s foreign policy, while also broadening their global perspectives and reinforcing their national pride. These efforts contribute to strengthening the Nation’s international cooperation and engagement.”

Ambassador HUO Yuzhen, Former Ambassador of China to the Czech Republic and Romania, has been dedicated to promoting exchanges and cooperation between China and CEEC. She has held various diplomatic positions, including Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic and Deputy Director-General of the Department of European-Central Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the Seminar, Ambassador Huo delivered a keynote speech titled “Advancing Major-Country Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics: Forging New Progress in China-CEEC Cooperation”.

She outlined the origins of China-CEEC cooperation and highlighted the achievements in various fields such as railway and port infrastructure, manufacturing, advanced technology, green energy and technology, culture, education, tourism, finance and healthcare. She also discussed how these collaborations have propelled the development of China-Europe relations and shared her outlook on the prospects of China-CEEC cooperation.

Ambassador Huo stated that China-CEEC cooperation represents an innovative initiative to deepen collaboration across various fields amid the evolving international landscape. It promotes the balanced and stable development of China-Europe relations, serves as a key platform for strengthening bilateral ties and provides crucial safeguards when facing global challenges. Since the cooperation mechanism was launched 13 years ago, the parties have created an all-round and multi-level cooperation framework, achieving fruitful results in a range of areas that benefit the people of our nation and CEEC. Looking forward, both parties should enhance the scale and quality of cooperation, particularly through closer collaboration in emerging fields such as green energy, advanced technology and artificial intelligence, while improving mechanisms to facilitate deeper cooperation.

Another keynote speaker, Ambassador YUE Bin, formerly China’s Ambassador to Georgia and Tajikistan, currently serves as a distinguished professor at the China Foreign Affairs University. With 37 years of diplomatic experience, Ambassador Yue specialises in China-Eurasia relations, having served as a Counselor at the Chinese embassies in Tajikistan and the Republic of Lithuania, as well as a Minister Counselor at the Chinese embassy in Russia. In his keynote speech “New Era of Sino-Russian Relations amid a Century of Change”, Ambassador Yue analysed the turbulence and transformations in the international politics, economics and security landscape. He outlined the historical evolution of China-Russia ties, the distinctive features of their partnership in the new era, and its strategic value and profound significance in the current era.

Ambassador Yue stated that the “once-in-a-century transformation” represents a forward-looking and scientific assessment of the evolving international landscape in the 21st century. Central to the historic changes is the rise of emerging economies, particularly reflected in China’s rapid development, which has catalysed a reconfiguration of the global economic order and become a pivotal driver of this unprecedented evolution. Over the years, China-Russia relations have steadily deepened, progressing from mutual recognition as friendly nations to a strategic cooperative partnership, then to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and now a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership for the new era. This evolution underscores the growing political trust, deepened interest integration, and enhanced strategic synergy between the two nations. In the new era, China-Russia relations are characterised by the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, supported by a comprehensive interaction mechanism, robust economic and trade cooperation, rich and diverse cultural exchanges, and collaboration in international and regional affairs, to establish a long-term, stable, and mutually beneficial partnership.

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