On 25 April 2019, Annual Conference of the Institute for China-America Studies (ICAS), themed “China-US Relations: Diagnosing Risks and Exploring Cooperation”, was held in Washington DC.

The ICAS Annual Conference of this year was co-organized by the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS), China Institute at the University of Alberta, Carter Center and Wuhan University China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies. The conference brought together more than one hundred scholars, experts and media representatives from a variety of universities, research institutions, think tanks and consulting firms from China, the United States and Canada, including the NISCSS, Fudan University, Tongji University, Beijing Normal University, Shanghai Social Science Academy, Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, Yale University, Stanford University, University of Virginia, University of Denver, US-China Business Council, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carter Center, RAND Corporation, Wilson Center, Asia Pacific Foundation, Centre for International Governance Innovation and the Global CEO Clubs. The discussion focused on major topics in bilateral relations such as “Risks of China-US Strategic Competition”, “China-US Cooperation in a Global Context”, “South China Sea Situation and China-US Maritime Security” and “Energy, Science and Technology, Education and Culture Cooperation between China and the United States”.

President of the NISCSS and Chairman of the Advisory Board of ICAS Dr. Wu Shicun gave a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. In his speech, Dr. Wu pointed out that China and the United States have begun dragging themselves out of the quagmire of trade frictions, the deteriorating bilateral relations are being put under a certain level of control, and new signs of detente and progress are emerging. Yet despite the substantial progress in trade negotiations, unsolved security issues still loom large in the prospects of bilateral relations. The military rivalry between China and US over the South China Sea is likely to grow in intensity and the likelihood of military escalation is yet to be precluded. Against such circumstances, any maritime cooperation between the two countries would be difficult to proceed. As a defender of peace and stability in the South China Sea, China, while firmly safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, would actively promote the overall development of the South China Sea as a harmonious and stable region. Then, as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of ICAS, Dr. Wu acknowledged ICAS’ achievements in promoting exchanges and mutual trust between academic institutions from both sides as well as playing a positive role in the development of China-US relations. He then emphasized the importance of academic exchanges between the two countries as such exchanges among scholars eventually promote positive interactions between the two governments. In the end, he proposed that China and the United States should continue developing platforms for exchanges and cooperation between their think tanks in the future so as to dissolve miscalculation through communication, replace accusation with dialogue, eliminate confrontation through cooperation, and consolidate the fruits as well as provide popular support for the stable development of China-US relations.