Chronology of the International Cooperation Center (Excerpts)

In July 2024, at the invitation of the ICC Joint Council, Fidelis Leite Magalhaes, Former Minister of Council of Ministers at the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the President of the Institute of Politics and International Affairs (IPIA) at Timor-Leste visited the Jianguomen office of the ICC Joint Council. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on deepening China and Timor-Leste relations, mutual trust & benefit, promoting bilateral exchanges in various fields, and reaching a series of important consensus on international issues of common interest.（Note: the President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta paid a state visit to China from July 28 to 31，2024）

In June 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office in China held a seminar on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations compound in Beijing. Assistant Foreign Minister Miao Deyu attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Guy Ryder, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Policy delivered a video speech. Zhang Zhixiang, member of the Strategic Advisory Committee of the ICC Joint Council and the former Executive Director of the IMF for China made a keynote speech representing the ICC. Zhang zhixiang said that the convening role of the United Nations Resident Coordinator is critical to accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. We propose all UN Member States to support the reform of the development system initiated by the UN Secretary-General to ensure that the system is better able to fulfil its mission and purpose.

In June 2024, at the invitation of the ICC Joint Council, Timothy Adams, President and CEO of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) and Former Under Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, visited the Jianguomen Office of the ICC. The two sides discussed the global economic situation and Sino-US economic relations, the governance and reform of the international financial system, the views on macroeconomic policy coordination and cooperation, and other topics of common concern. 

In May 2024, the ICC Joint Council and the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China visited Changsha and Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province from May 14 to 16. The two sides held the UN Summit of Future China Preparatory Meeting and the Wulingyuan Exchange Seminar. 

In May 2024, the ICC Joint Council and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Representative Office in China held the first China’s conference of the IMF Asia and Pacific Economic Outlook Report for Spring 2024 in Beijing. The report predicts that the Asia-Pacific region will remain the most dynamic region in the global economy in 2024, accounting for 60% of global economic growth.

In April 2024, H.E. Ambassador Jesús Seade Kuri, Ambassador of Mexico to China, visited the Jianguomen office of the ICC Joint Council. Two sides had in-depth exchanges on the topics of: China-Mexico investment and trade cooperation, the reform of the international financial monetary system, the promotion of China-Latin America comprehensive cooperative partnership to a higher level, and other topics of common interest.

In April 2024, H.E. Ambassador Marcos Galvão, Ambassador of Brazil to China,and his colleagues visited the Jianguomen office of the ICC Joint Council. The two sides exchanged views on the global macroeconomic situation, the G20 Summit (International Economic Cooperation Forum) and the reform of the international monetary system.

In April 2024, International Cooperation Center Joint Council (ICC), Center for Global Competence Development at Tsinghua University, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University jointly held a forward-looking seminar on "Global Economic and Financial Situation Seminar - The Reform of the International Monetary System with Special focus on the Special Drawing Rights (SDR)" in the Jianhua Building of Tsinghua University. Prior to the Seminar, Guo Yong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Tsinghua University, met with Anoop Singh and other international advisors and expert groups of ICC in Tsinghua University. The seminar was moderated by Liao Ying, Director for the Center for Global Competence Development of Tsinghua University, Zhang Zhixiang, member of the Strategic Advisory Committee of International Cooperation Center, Chairman of the International Monetary Research Committee and former Executive Director of China at IMF, delivered a keynote speech and presided over a roundtable discussion. Michel Camdessus, former Managing Director of IMF, delivered a video message to the seminar. The International Adviser of ICC, internationally well-known economist and former director of the Asia-Pacific Department of IMF Anoop Singh, and Jacky So, Senior Advisor and Chair professor of the President of Macao University of Science and Technology, to deliver keynote speeches respectively.  

In April 2024, the Joint Council of the International Cooperation Center and the Embassy of the Republic of Singapore in China held a China-Singapore Economic Policy Exchanges Symposium in Beijing. Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policy of the Government of Singapore, attended the symposium during his visit to China and exchanged views with members of the Strategic Advisory Committee of the International Cooperation Center and invited expert representatives. Singaporean Ambassador to China Peter Tan and other Singaporean  officials attended the above activities.

In March 2024, upon the invitation of the ICC Joint Council, Harry Roque, Legal Counsel of the Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines (former Presidential Spokesperson and Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress) and his delegation paid a special visit to China. The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions on current bilateral relations between China and the Philippines, the international and regional situation, each country’s domestic and foreign policies, and other issues of mutual concern. (Note: U.S. Secretary of State Blinken visited the Philippines on March 18th to 19th. On March 21st, the foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, and the Philippines discussed preparations for a trilateral leaders’ summit in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. The summit is planned for April 11th in Washington, D.C.)

In January 2024, the Joint Council of the ICC held a seminar on “Global Economic and Financial Situation––Trend and Prospect of the International Monetary System” at the Xianhe Hall of the Beijing International Club. Zhang Zhixiang, member of the ICC Strategic Advisory Committee and former Executive Director for China at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), presided over the conference and delivered a speech. Anoop Singh, senior expert in international monetary research and former Director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the IMF, attended the conference and delivered a keynote speech. Envoys and senior diplomats from countries and economies such as Singapore, Japan, the EU, India, Algeria, Italy, Pakistan, Indonesia, Switzerland, New Zealand, and the Philippines attended the seminar.

In January 2024, the ICC Joint Council held a closed-door expert seminar on global food security at its office building. Zhang Chongqing, member of the ICC Strategy Advisory Committee and Honorary Chairman of the CGCA, chaired the seminar. He Changchui, Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences and former Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, and Zhou Jiayi, Researcher at the renowned international strategic think tank, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), presented the seminar with special invitation and deliverd speeches. Senior diplomats from multiple countries and representatives of multinational institutions in China, such as Siti Zurianah Ismail, Second Secretary (Agriculture) of the Embassy of Malaysia in China, Ana Abejuela, Agricultural Counselor at the Embassy of the Philippines in China, and Shi Haiguang, former Chief Representative of the Canadian Wheat Board in China, attended the seminar.

In December 2023, the ICC Joint Council held a welcome banquet for the delegation from the Blavatnik School of Government of the University of Oxford at the Zijin Service Center of the National Government Offices Administration of the State Council. Ma Shengrong, former Vice President and Executive Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Xinhua News Agency, met with the delegation led by Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. Many distinguished guests from China and abroad attended the banquet, including Zhang Chongqing, member of the ICC Strategy Advisory Committee and Honorary Chairman of the CGCA, Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, Steven Barnett, the IMF’s Senior Resident Representative in China, and Jang Ping Thia, Principal Economist and Manager of Economics Department, AIIB.

In November 2023, as the 30th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting was about to be held in San Francisco, the United States, the ICC and the China Media Group (CGTN) jointly organized the APEC Youth Forum, which was broadcast on the CGTN official website and various social media platforms. Guests from 17 APEC member economies discussed the positive role played by the APEC in promoting global economic cooperation and deepening regional economic integration over the past three decades, so as to facilitate global development initiatives with concrete actions and contribute to the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In November 2023, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its tour to China, the Philadelphia Orchestra delegation, with the support of the U.S. Department of State’s Arts Envoy Program, came to China for performances and exchanges. President Xi Jinping sent reply letter and later, President Biden sent congratulatory letter. Ma Shengrong, former Vice President and Executive Deputy Editor of Xinhua News Agency, Zhang Yu, Deputy Director of the ICC Steering Committee, as well as Cheng Yu, Executive Secretary General of the ICC, have been invited to attend the Reception of the Commemoration of 50th Anniversary of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s First Concert in China and other two concerts respectively. Meanwhile the representatives of the ICC have met with Matías Tarnopolsky, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Ryan Fleur, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the violinist Davyd Booth (who visited China with the Orchestra in 1973) and other members of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s delegation and exchanged ideas with each other.

In addition, the ICC gifted the delegation a collection entitled “300 Poems of the Tang Dynasty with Embroidered Sculptures” and presented the performance program of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s first visit to China in September 1973 together with the badge of the Joint Council of the ICC to the China National Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Liao Yanru, Deputy Head of the China National Symphony Orchestra, attended the meeting. Zhou Suli, Minister-Counselor and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Singapore Embassy in China, were also invited to the concert.

In November 2023, as the 10th China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was staging in Busan, Korea, and on the 78th anniversary of the return of the “the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea” to its motherland, the ICC’s representatives were invited to participate in the opening ceremony of the special exhibition “Let’s Go, to Our Homeland, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea Returns”, which was held at the Korean Cultural Center, China in Beijing by the Korean Cultural Center and the National Memorial of the Korean Provisional Government. Special guests of China and ROK at the event included Chung Jae-ho, Ambassador of the Embassy of the ROK in China, Kim Jin-gon, Minister Counselor of the ROK’s Embassy in Beijing and Director of the Korean Cultural Center, China and Kim Hui-gon, Director of the National Memorial of the Korean Provisional Government.

In October 2023, the 3rd Hong Kong International Talents Summit and a corresponding exhibition was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The events were co-organized by the Hong Kong Quality And Talent Migrants Association and the ICC, in collaboration with the Labour and Welfare Bureau of the Government of the HKSAR, the Talent Development Committee of the Government of the Macao SAR, and other governmental departments at the Greater Bay Area. Lee Ka Chiu, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, and Andrew Leung, President of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR, sent congratulatory messages to the Forum respectively. More than 1,500 Chinese and foreign guests attended the conference, including Shahbaz Khan, Director of the Multisectoral Regional Office for East Asia (UNESCO Beijing), Luo Yong, Chairman of the Hong Kong Quality And Talent Migrants Association, and senior officials of the Executive Council and the Government of the HKSAR.

In October 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative Office in People’s Republic of China and the ICC organized a seminar on the global economic and financial situation in the Hall of Crane at Beijing International Club. The seminar was chaired by Zhang Zhixiang, member of the ICC Strategic Advisory Committee and former IMF Executive Director for China. Guests attending the seminar were Steven Barnett, Senior Resident Representative of IMF in China, Jang Ping Thia, Principal Economist in the Strategy, Policy and Budget Department of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Scott Sumner, Hawtrey Chair Emeritus of Monetary Policy at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and Ministers and Counselors from the foreign embassies of countries including Japan and Australia.

In September 2023, Zhang Chongqing, member of the Strategic Advisory Committee of ICC and Honorary Chairman of China Group Companies Association (CGCA), together with relevant leaders of the ICC, met with Benito Techico, Special Envoy of the President to the People’s Republic of China for trade, investments, and tourism. Their discussion in Beijing covered in-depth exchanges on topics of common interest, including China-Philippines trade, investment, and tourism cooperation. Benito Techico wrote a message for the ICC in Chinese and English: “Deepen the traditional friendship between the Philippines and China and open a new chapter of comprehensive strategic cooperation.”

In August 2023, the representatives from the ICC paid a visit to Malaysia by invitation and visited the International Economic and Social Council of Malaysia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia and the Immigration Department of Malaysia. Representatives met with Princess Tengku Faizwa, member of royal family of Malaysia, Dato’ Norman Muhamad, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (currently Malaysia’s Ambassador to China), and Ayub Bin Abd Rahman, Director of the Foreign Worker Division of Immigration Department of Malaysia.

In April 2023, before the China-Central Asia Summit, the International Cooperation Center (ICC) held a symposium on the Belt and Road and China-Central Asia cooperation and development in Beijing. Chen Jinxing, Deputy Head of the Committee on Social and Legal Affairs of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the first Chairman of the China Committee of the Silk Road Business Council and former Chairman of China Datang Corporation, attended the symposium.

In March 2023, in Beijing the executives of the ICC met with Ngaire Woods, founding Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government, former Advisor to the European Union and member of the International Advisory Panel of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. They attended the closed-door symposium held by the ICC.

In March 2023, before the visit of French President Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to China, the ICC hosted a symposium on China-Europe Strategic Dialogue and Mutually Beneficial Cooperation in the Hall of Crane at Beijing International Club (the former press room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Ma Shengrong, former Vice President and Executive Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Xinhua News Agency attended the symposium and delivered a speech.

In December 2022, a symposium on China-U.S. relations and the world landscape (China-U.S. Summit at the University of Maryland) supported by the ICC was successfully held at the University of Maryland. J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Deng Zhaoxiang, founder of the Committee of 100, Wayne Silby, founder of Calvert Investments, the largest socially responsible investment company in the U.S., and other American guests attended the symposium.

In November 2022, the 17th G20 Leaders’ Summit was held in Bali, Indonesia. Li Xiaoyi, Special Representative of the Chinese and Foreign Business Committee of the ICC, was invited to attend the G20 Business Summit in Bali.

In September 2022, before the International Forum on Resilient and Stable Industrial and Supply Chains, the ICC held closed-door seminars on “Global Industrial Chain Supply Chain Security Situation and China's Countermeasures” and “China-Philippines Economic and Trade Cooperation and Development” in the Hall of Crane at Beijing International Club. Chen Fengying, Director of the Institute of World Economy of the China Institute of Modern International Relations, and Albert P. Dela Cruz, Vice-Ministerial-Level Official of the Office of the President of the Philippines and Director of the Philippine National Oil Company, attended and addressed the two seminars respectively.

In August 2022, with the support of relevant state departments, the Steering Committee of the ICC and China Group Companies Association (CGCA) established a strategic collaboration mechanism, in which the two sides will form a close cooperative relationship in political advice, theoretical innovation, public opinion guidance, social services, public diplomacy, and the protection of overseas interests of state-owned enterprises, so as to jointly serve the state.

In June 2022, the ICC released an international public information film “Sense the Temperature of the World” in Times Square, New York. Taking the city scenery of the various continents as the background, the film is aimed to draw people’s attention to the global socioeconomic issues under the interplay of multiple factors such as climate change, regional conflicts, food crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic by showing the city landmarks and human landscapes in spring, summer, autumn and winter. The official website of the Cyberspace Administration of China, Xinhuanet and Haiwainet covered the release.

In January and early February 2022, through a comprehensive study the expert group of the Steering Committee of the ICC predicted that the Russian-Ukrainian crisis will break out when the temperature drops to the freezing point in the border areas of Russia and Ukraine from February 15 to 30, 2023. In early March, the expert group recommended that the parties concerned should pay great attention to the European safety issues facing the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

In December 2021, the Public Diplomacy Department of the Secretariat of the ICC opened its permanent office and conference hall at NO.21 Jianguomenwai Avenue in Beijing.

In May 2021, the Steering Committee of the ICC established a working mechanism with the China Institute of Strategy and Management (CISM). The leaders of the ICC were invited to attend a closed-door seminar on “the Critical Situation of the International Financial Game and China's Countermeasures” organized by CISM.

From January to May 2020, the members of the Joint Council of the ICC paid close attention to the COVID-19 pandemic situation at home and abroad, actively participated in emergency relief, and mobilized domestic and overseas resources to make donations. They have handled a number of emergency consular protection actions in Wuhan, Hubei, London, Ecuador, Quito, and New York.

In January 2020, the expert group of the Steering Committee of the ICC submitted the “Inner Guide” to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Secretariat of the CPC central committee respectively in response to the global outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting timely study and evaluation of the pandemic and pushing forward the work related to overseas Chinese and international students.

In November 2019, the leaders of the ICC met with Princess Tengku Faizwa Razif of Malaysia in Guangzhou. Beh Ching Chye, Consul General of Malaysia in Guangzhou, and He Jianli, former Chief Secretary of former Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC, Henry Fok Ying-tung, and former Executive Vice President of Fok Ying Tung Group, attended the meeting in Guangzhou.

In September 2019, leaders of ICC met with Tan Zhenjiang, former Researcher of the Canadian Federal Government, and Fang Wu, Vice President of the Canada International Trade Promotion Society, in Beijing. They came to China to attend the closed-door meeting on "China-Canada Economic and Trade Relations: Development and Challenges".

In June 2019, based on comprehensive assessment, the panel from ICC Steering Committee recommended comprehensive drills for the prevention and control of imported epidemic outbreak of infectious diseases in large- and medium-sized cities and ports of entry and exit through on-site collaboration and emergency response. (Note: On July 26 of the same year, the National Health Commission organized a comprehensive drill on the prevention and control of imported acute infectious diseases outbreak, with over 8,200 people participated. This was the first large-scale drill for public health emergency since the SARS outbreak in 2003.)

In April 2019, the leaders of the ICC met with Igor Kharzheev, President of the Association of Russian-Chinese Sister Cities, at Building No.5, Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

In September 2018, the representatives of the ICC were invited to the UNESCO Partners’ Forum in Paris, where they met with Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of UNESCO.

In July 2018, the leaders of the ICC met with Farah Jaafar, CEO of the Labuan International Business and Financial Center, in Shanghai. The two parties reached an agreement to establish a renminbi clearing center for ASEAN region on Labuan Island, the federal territory of the Government of Malaysia, so as to create a new platform for international exchanges and cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

In May 2018, the leaders of the ICC hosted a banquet for the delegation of the American cultural and artistic community led by Bill Mechanic, the former Chairman of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (an organization that votes for the Oscar winners), at Building No.8, Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

In September 2017, In Beijing, Zhang Chongqing, member of the ICC Strategy Advisory Committee and Honorary Chairman of the CGCA, and other leaders of the center met with Brian Egan, former Senior Legal Advisor at the White House and the U.S. State Department, as well as Edward Krauland, who served the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

In September 2017, the ICC invited the delegation led by His Highness Naquiyuddin from the royal family of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, and leaders including Long Yuxiang, member of the ICC Strategic Advisory Committee and Executive Chairman of China International Culture Communication Center, hosted a banquet for the delegation at Building No.14 of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. General Tang Tianbiao also met with the guests.

In July 2017, through comprehensive assessment, the panel of the ICC Steering Committee predicted that the Trump administration was preparing a major trade action against China and would apply “Section 301” for investigation. (On August 14 of the same year, the U.S. President Donald Trump signed an administrative memorandum authorizing Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to review the so-called “Chinese trade practices”. On August 18, Lighthizer issued a statement indicating that he would initiate a trade investigation against China in the areas of technology transfer, intellectual property rights, and innovation under “Section 301”.)

In May 2017, members of the Strategy Advisory Committee of the ICC met with Jean Christophe Iseux, Baron von Pfetten zu St. Mariakirchen, the former UK Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and Chairman of the Institute for East-West Strategic Studies, along with his colleagues in Beijing.

In October 2016, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, met with a special representative of the ICC Steering Committee in person in her hometown Durban, South Africa. In December, ICC leaders met with Dareed Nihous, Advisor of the Chairperson of the African Union, who made his special visit to Beijing.

In May 2016, leaders including Zhang Chongqing, member of the Strategy Advisory Committee of the center and Honorary Chairman of the CGCA, led the delegation of CGCA on a visit to Nigeria. The delegation was received by Ibrahim, member of the Nigerian Presidential Commission and Minister of State Foreign Affairs.

In January 2016, the expert group of the ICC Steering Committee recommended that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) should refine the expressions related to network governance system in Cybersecurity Law (Draft) (recommendations in May 2015 include adding more provisions concerning “international exchanges and cooperation”). In addition, the group suggested that NPC should move content related to the national cybersecurity strategy to the general provisions with a view to embodying its importance. In July 2016, the NPC Law Committee and the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council agreed with and adopted the above suggestions.

In May 2015, the leaders of the ICC Steering Committee met with Tan Sri Rastam, Co-Chairman of Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific and Advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Malaysian Federal Government, who were here to attend the 6th Xiangshan Forum in Beijing.

In March 2015, under the guidance of competent national departments, the ICC established the Overseas Interests Protection Center, as well as research groups on the “Polar Silk Road”, overseas non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and crisis management.

In February 2015, referring to the “Provisional Regulations for the Administration of Foreign Chambers of Commerce in China” and the “Regulations on Funds”, the panel of the ICC Steering Committee made two recommendations to the Ministry of Public Security and the NPC Standing Committee. The first recommendation is amending the name of the law, which was under the legislative process, from the “Law on the Administration of Overseas Nongovernmental Organizations” to the “Law on the Administration of Activities of Overseas Nongovernmental Organizations in the Mainland of China”. The second is identifying the adjustments in the draft to strengthen temporary supervision of the activities of overseas NGOs in the mainland of China. Upon its second deliberation, the NPC Law Committee agreed with and adopted the above suggestions.

In January 2015, the members of the ICC Strategy Advisory Committee and the leaders of ICC Steering Committee met and exchanged views with Phinij Jarusombat, former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and President of Thai-Chinese Cultural and Relationship Council, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.