International Experts Discuss War, Peace and Reconciliation in Beijing
Beijing International Experts’ Forum on “War, Peace and Reconciliation”

On September 13, the International Experts’ Forum on “War, Peace and Reconciliation” opened in Beijing, with the participation of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Renmin University, the Institute for European Studies at the Ministry of Education, the Beijing Club for International Dialogue, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and Debora Tydecks-Zhou, Representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in China. The keynote address was delivered by Lu Shaye, Special Envoy of the Chinese government for European affairs.

The first part of the forum focused on historical developments and the analysis of war, peace, and reconciliation. At its core was an expert dialogue on historical reflection and comparative perspectives in the context of the international order. Dr. Bernhard Seliger, Chief Representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Korea, presented observations from 25 years of historical reconciliation efforts in Europe and Korea.

The second part of the forum explored peace concepts and mechanisms, cultural memory, and peace education. It concluded with a panel discussion on the challenges of Sino-European cooperation and the future of global governance.

A wide range of issues were addressed during the forum, including references to Kant and Einstein, different understandings of war and peace, and approaches to cooperation in fields such as digitalization and rearmament in Europe. The role of remembrance culture—particularly in Germany, Poland, and France—in light of current crises and their effects on international relations was also discussed.

The forum concluded with the recital of a well-known Polish poem from the post-World War II period, calling for peace and reconciliation. The poem was read by members of the Student Association for European Studies at Renmin University and translated into both Chinese and German.