On November 9-14, 2018, two scholars from CASS Institute of International Law - Professor Sun Shiyan, Head of the International Human Rights Law Department, and Professor Liao Fan, Head of the Department of Research Coordination and International Cooperation – visited the US to carry out a series of academic activities.
On November 10-11, Professor Sun and Professor Liao attended the Expert Roundtable on “China and the Future of International Legal Order” at the Law School of Columbia University. The roundtable with jointly sponsored by The Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), China University of Political Science and Law, and Columbia Law School and attended by over 20 experts and scholars in the field of international law from China, US, UK, France, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. At the seminar, Professor Sun Shiyan gave a keynote speech entitled “the Human Rights Agenda in the Chinese International Agenda” and presided over the fourth unit of the seminar and Professor Liao Fan gave a keynote speech entitled “the application of international humanitarian law in potential conflicts in countries along the “Belt and Road”. Professor Sun and Professor Liao also carried out extensive exchange with foreign colleagues on issues relating to China and International Law at the seminar.
On the morning of November 12, the Chinese deletation, accompanied by Ms. Harriet Moynihan from Chatham House, visited the UN Headquarters and held a colloquium with officials of the UN Office of Legal Affairs. At the colloquium, Professor Sun and Professor Liao engaged in extensive exchange with US officials; on the afternoon of November 12th, the Chinese delegation held meetings with the permanent missions of UK, China, Canada and Peru to the UN and exchanged views with legal counsels of the missions.
On December 13, the Chinese delegation visited the famous US think tank Council on Foreign Relations and held a meeting with Professor Jerome Cohen and eight other famous US scholars in the fields of international law and Chinese law from New York University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Oxford University and Hofstra University. At the meeting, the Chinese and foreign scholars carried out frank and in-depth discussions on such issues as the Chinese and US attitudes towards international rule of law and global governance, a community with shared future for mankind, the Belt and Road, WTO legal system, and international human rights law system.
Through the visit to the US, Professor Sun and Professor Liao have contributed to the mutual understanding between Chinese and US scholars on many issues of international law, and especially increased the understanding by foreign scholars of the standpoints of the Chinese government on such important issues as global governance, the construction with shared future for mankind, and the “Belt and Road” strategy.