On December 15, Wen Xueguo, Executive Vice President of Shanghai Academy, met Japanese scholars, including Professor Hideaki Kaneda from Keio University, Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, Chief Researcher and former Vice President of Sojitz Research Institute, and researchers Watanabe Yoshikazu, Onoda Osamu and Suzuki Kuniko from Okazaki Institute, who came to Shanghai Academy for the Seminar on “‘The ‘Belt and Road’ Cooperative Mechanism, Economic Globalization, and Security Guarantee”. Both parties exchanged views on issues concerning think tank construction, and the contents and significance of seminars.

Wen Xueguo first expressed his warm welcome to the Japanese experts and scholars coming from afar, and then briefed the background, goals, service objects, research scope and innovation mechanisms of Shanghai Academy. He introduced that, Shanghai Academy is a think tank jointly established by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Shanghai Municipal People’s Government. By leveraging the resource advantages of CASS, and by viewing “Shanghai, from an external perspective”, Shanghai Academy pools wisdom and takes measures to serve Shanghai’s innovation and progress, and improve Shanghai’s research and innovation ability in strategic research, political suggestion provision, public opinion guidance, and public foreign affairs, by centering on the major trends of Shanghai’s economic and social growth and the vision of building Shanghai into an global city of excellence. Shanghai is a city with a high degree of openness, while Shanghai Academy also adheres to the idea of openness to the outside world and has held many important international academic conferences, such as the “Shanghai Archaeology Forum”, the “The Fourth LAC-China Policy and Knowledge Summit”, and “East Asian Partners Dialogue on Latin American Studies——Consensus and Cooperation”, to absorb international wisdom, and to better contribute to Shanghai’s economic and social growth and to world peace and friendship.

Hideaki Kaneda said that, the progress of Sino-Japanese relations will have both peaks and troughs. General Secretary Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have made great efforts to improve the Sino-Japanese relations, which has gradually taken a turn for the better. He expressed his hope that through this visit his party could make its due contribution to promoting the development and improvement of Sino-Japanese relations, through exchanging views with Chinese scholars on issues concerning the security assurance, the “Belt and Road” Initiative, the economy, and politics.

Deputy Director Li Chunguang from the Cooperation Division and relevant personnel of Shanghai Academy were present at the discussion.

(Text and Photo by Xiang Jinmei)