- Inaugural Xinhuanet Thinker Forum held outside of China
- Forum marks 25th Anniversary of Sino-Singapore Diplomatic Relations
- Professor Arnoud De Meyer, SMU President and Professor James Tang, Special Advisor to SMU President (Greater China) and Dean of SMU School of Social Sciences, appointed as Xinhuanet’s International Thinkers
The Xinhuanet Thinker Global Forum, themed “25th Anniversary of Sino-Singapore Diplomatic Relations: Economic Cooperation and Opportunities”, was held on 12 February 2015 at Singapore Management University (SMU). Attended by eminent business and academic guests, this was the first Xinhuanet Thinker Forum conducted outside of China.
Keynote speakers and panellists included:
- Professor Arnoud De Meyer, SMU President
- Mr Lee Khoon Choy, Former PAP MP, Senior Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador to Eight Countries
- Professor Zheng Yongnian, East Asian Institute Director
- Ms Guo Ningning, Bank of China Singapore Branch President
- Professor James Tang, Special Advisor to SMU President (Greater China), and Dean of SMU School of Social Sciences
- Associate Professor Henry Gao, SMU School of Law, and WTO Chairs Programme, WTO Secretariat
Mr Wu Lei, General Manager of Xinhuanet Singapore, conveyed the opening speech of Mr Tian Shubin, Chairman of Xinhuanet. Mr Wu also moderated the Panel Discussion.
Professor De Meyer and Professor Tang, along with Professor Zheng and Ms Guo, were presented with letters of appointment as Xinhuanet’s International Thinkers. Professor De Meyer is the first Caucasian to be named an International Thinker.
Xinhuanet’s "Thinker" series sees active contributions from eminent thought leaders such as Alibaba Group's Founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma; Tencent's CEO and Founder “Pony” Ma Huateng, who also created one of China’s largest internet companies, with WeChat and QQ; Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management’s Professor Li Daokui, known as one of the most influential economists in China; and Peking University’s Honorary Dean of the National School of Development Professor Justin Lin, who was former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank.
[Photo: (L-R) Mr Ding Qilin, Chief Representative of Xinhua News Agency Singapore, presented the Letters of Appointment as “International Thinker” to Ms Guo Ningning, Bank of China Singapore Branch President; Professor Zheng Yongnian, East Asian Institute Director; Professor Arnoud De Meyer, SMU President; and Professor James Tang, Special Advisor to SMU President (Greater China), and Dean of SMU School of Social Sciences. Photo by Xinhuanet.]
In his speech, Professor De Meyer said that Sino-Singapore collaborations have leaped and grown tremendously in the last 25 years of diplomatic relations, and SMU aims to contribute in strengthening the partnerships.
Since establishing SMU’s China Initiatives at the end of 2012 to drive thought leadership that will mutually benefit Singapore and China, SMU’s long-term strategy in China has consisted of four priorities.
- First, to raise the international profile and reputation of SMU in China, as part of the overall strategy to build the SMU brand internationally.
- Second, to improve the quality of students admitted from China for SMU’s undergraduate, postgraduates and executive programmes.
- Third, to increase and broaden the engagement of SMU faculty members in common research and PhD co-supervision with their counterparts at leading Chinese universities.
- Fourth, to enhance student exchange programmes and internships in China for SMU students.
Professor De Meyer also highlighted several SMU China projects.
In the research front, SMU has established a PhD scholarship in partnership with the China Scholarship Council (CSC), set up the SMU-Fudan Joint Research Centre in Development Studies, and the SMU-SJTU Joint Centre for Quantitative Economics and Finance with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
In terms of postgraduate programmes, the University launched the Peking-SMU Masters of IT in Business (MITB) Dual Degree Programme, and the Tsinghua-SMU Masters of Science in CFO Leadership (MCFO) Dual Degree Programme most recently.
On industry partnerships, SMU has collaborated with Huawei to conduct research on Information Security and Trust, and with Ping An Technology to establish Pinnacle, a research lab focusing on Big Data.
SMU has also partnered Xinhuanet on a series of China-related forums, including the SMU-Tsinghua Global Forum in Beijing and SMU-Fudan Global Forum in Shanghai in April 2014, and the SMU China Forum on the “New Normal” held in Singapore in November 2014.
At the Panel Discussion, panellists shared invaluable insights and views on the economic cooperation and opportunities between Singapore and China, as well as Sino-Singapore partnerships in the global context, and concluded with active questions from the floor of 200 guests in the Question and Answer session.
The Forum was organised by Xinhuanet, co-organised by Xinhuanet Singapore and SMU, and supported by Business China, Singapore Business Federation, and Bank of China Singapore Branch.
[Photo: Singapore Pioneer Mr Lee Khoon Choy, Former PAP MP, Senior Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador to Eight Countries, who had just turned 91 years of age before the Forum, drew much respect and admiration as he shared candid stories of his encounters with China leaders Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping during his diplomatic career building Singapore-China relations. Photo by Xinhuanet.]
[Featured Photo: SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer welcoming guests at the first Xinhuanet Thinker Forum held outside of China, at SMU. He is the first Caucasian to be appointed as a Xinhuanet “International Thinker”. Photo by Xinhuanet.]
